RE Armageddon: Part I- Prelude to Destruction
by striker
Summary: The survivors begin to slowly reunite to stop Umbrella. Meanwhile, a new danger emergies from the shadows while old foes return. Please read and review
1. After Antarctica

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me.

#### Resident Evil: Armageddon

# Part I- Prelude to Destruction

## Chapter 1- After Antarctica

Written by: Striker

### Armageddon _n._ A final battle between the forces of good and evil.

_Webster's Dictionary_

_My name is Chris Redfield. Where do I begin? It was so long ago that sometimes I think it was all a bad dream. Ha, I wish it was, but it really happened. I guess you could say that this all started years ago when the Spencers and the Ashfords created the Umbrella Corporation, a giant pharmaceutical company that served as a front for their bio-weapons research. It started when Umbrella perfected the T-virus, a deadly virus that turned people into flesh-eating zombies and created Bio-Organic Weapons, horrible genetic freaks that lived only to kill. _

_ _

_That's how it started for Umbrella. For my friends and I, it began in July of 1998. That was the year that all our lives were changed forever. I was part of a special unit that was attached to the Raccoon City Police Department. I was part of the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad, or S.T.A.R.S. team. We were a special paramilitary unit that was formed as a counter-terrorist task force. We handled only the tough situations no one else could. We thought we could deal with anything.We were wrong. It started when people were attacked and killed by what was thought to be wild dogs or grizzlies. The victims were mauled and half eaten. It came to our attention that this could be the work of a cult, as some witnesses claimed that they were assaulted be a small group of 10-12 people. Somehow, I wish that were the case._

_ _

_I'll never forget that night as long as I live. At first it was going smoothly with Bravo team searching the Arklay Mountains. This was where all the murders had happened. Then we lost contact with Bravo team. Alpha team, which I was part of, set out to see what happened. The members of Alpha team were I, my friend and weapons expert Barry Burton, My friend Jill Valentine, who was not only an ex-Delta, but the daughter of Dick Valentine, one of the best cat burglars in the world. He not only taught her his tricks, but also got her to join the S.T.A.R.S. team so she wouldn't end up in jail like he did. There was Joseph Frost. He was the Bravos' vehicle specialist until he was promoted to the Alphas by our captain, Albert Wesker. Wesker was promoted to S.T.A.R.S. captain in January. Everyone thought he was cool with his slicked back hair and shades. Then there was Brad Vickers. He was our pilot. While I was a qualified pilot from my days in the Air Force before I was kicked out for less than acceptable behavior, Brad was chosen to fly. Besides, Wesker said that he needed me on the ground cause I was a very good shot, which I was. Brad also had the nickname "chickenheart" for his lack of guts, which was probably the other reason he was the pilot. _

_ _

_To make a long story short, we found the Bravos' copter. Our teammates were missing so we started a search. Joseph was the one who found a gun, with the hand still holding it. It was from Edward Dewy, Bravos' pilot. Sadly, Joseph was attacked by dogs and killed. We ran back to the copter only to have Brad hold true to his nickname and take off without us. We were forced to run to a dark mansion we saw in the distance. Inside we found the bodies of Enrico Marini, Bravos' captain, Ken Sullivan, field scout and chemist, Richard Aiken, our communications expert, and Forest Speyer, sniper and my best friend. The only survivor we found was Rebecca Chambers. She was Bravos' field medic and biochemist. She was also only 18, the youngest member of the S.T.A.R.S. team. We found out that our friends were killed by zombies and other creatures mutated by the T-virus. We also found out that Wesker was a traitor who was ordered by Umbrella to use us a guinea pigs to test out their B.O.W.s, killing machines made by the T-virus. Wesker used Barry by threatening Barry's family. He locked up Jill, shot Rebecca, and tried to have me fight the Tyrant, a ten-foot monster built like a tank. Well, it killed Wesker, I killed it, found Barry and Rebecca, alive only because she had a kevlar vest on, and rescued Jill. We made it to the helipad where we signaled Brad. Just as he got there the Tyrant burst through the ground and attacked us. It took me shooting it with a rocket launcher Brad threw to us to kill it. We got out just before the mansion blew. We thought it was over. We were wrong, dead wrong._

_ _

_We tried to start an investigation on Umbrella, but we had no evidence. The only things I could find were a few papers that were titled "G." I knew this was bad. We made a plan, I would go to Umbrella's HQ in Paris, Jill would stay and look into a factory that Umbrella owned in Raccoon, and Barry would take his family up to Canada. Barry had felt awful when he found out Wesker was bluffing about his family. Barry decided to hide his family so they wouldn't be in danger. Rebecca and Brad were gone. They disappeared after we got back from the mansion. I guess they were smart. Anyway, I left for Europe, hoping that we would meet up there like we planed. It was the hardest thing I ever did. I didn't want to leave my friends, especially Jill for certain reasons, but I knew I had to._

_ _

_Three months later Raccoon City was infected by the T-virus and the G-virus, Umbrella's newest creation. Jill was caught in the city when it happened. She managed to escape with the help of Carlos Oliveira, a member of the U.B.C.S., the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasures Service. However, she first had to get past the Nemesis, a Tyrant built for one thing, killing the S.T.A.R.S. members. In fact, it killed Brad while Jill stood helplessly by. It infected Jill with the T-virus, but Carlos found the cure for her and saved her life. They also found out the Carlos' leader, Nicholai Ginovaef, was a traitor just like Wesker. He was ordered to use his men as guinea pigs too. He also tried to kill Jill before he escaped. Umbrella had convinced the U.S. government to nuke Raccoon to destroy the virus. Jill and Carlos had to get out. They did but not before Jill finished off the Nemesis. They managed to survive because Barry came and rescued them. _

_ _

_While that was happening, my sister Claire came looking for me. I didn't want her involved in this, so I didn't tell her where I went. She got into town, only to be attacked by zombies. She was saved by Leon Kennedy, a young rookie who had just arrived to start his new life as a police officer. Together they tried to get to the police station but got separated en route first by crashing the car they were in, (there was a zombie in the back seat that attacked them) and second by having a tanker truck crash into the car. They each got to the station and met different people. Leon met Ada Wong. Her story was that she was looking for her boyfriend when, in fact, she was a spy sent by Umbrella to get the G-virus. Claire met Sherry Birkin. She was the daughter of William and Annette Birkin, creators of the T and G viruses. Claire and Leon also found out how Raccoon had become infected. It was a botched attempt by Umbrella to steal the viruses. William had injected himself with the G-virus because he was fatally wounded. He then killed the Umbrella soldiers and caused the virus to escape. Claire found out that William was looking to impregnate Sherry in order to multiply, which he did. Leon found himself running from Mr. X, another Tyrant sent to get the G-virus. Claire found the cure for Sherry and killed Birkin, who had changed into a horrible monster. Leon and Ada finally destroyed the Tyrant, but Ada apparently got killed. Both Claire and Leon did this in an underground lab Umbrella had in the sewers. The lab's self-destruct timer was also counting down while Claire and Leon were fighting their monsters. They both got on an emergency escape train with Leon retrieving Sherry along the way. They escaped the lab before it blew and Claire gave Sherry the cure. Of coarse, something bad had to happen. It seamed that Birkin was not dead. He, or it, had gotten on the train, setting off the train's self-destruct system. Well, they stopped the train and escaped before it blew, killing what used to be William Birkin for good._

_ _

_Raccoon wasn't the only place where Umbrella had bases. After escaping, Leon sent his friend Ark Thompson to Sheena Island. It was run by Vincent, a cruel man that had unleashed the T-virus on the island just because he was going to get fired. Ark tried to escape, but Vincent tried to stop him. The copter they were in crashed, Ark hit his head, and lost his memories. He then thought he was Vincent. It wasn't until he met Rott Clein and his sister Lily that Ark remembered who he was. They got away, but not before Ark killed Vincent, escaped the "sweepers," soldiers sent in to kill everyone, destroyed a new Tyrant, and blew up the island._

_ _

_Claire also found another Umbrella facility. She was sent to Rockfort Prison after getting caught in Umbrella's Paris lab, still looking for me. As soon as she got there though, it was attacked. She was set loose and found another inmate, Steve Burnside. While Claire first saw Steve as an idiot and he saw her as something to slow him down, they soon fell for each other. While avoiding Alfred Ashford, the psycho running the island, they escaped in a plane. Alfred, however, redirected the plane to Antarctica. There, Steve and Claire found Alexander, Alfred's father, and Alexia, Alfred's sister, who had injected herself with the T-Veronica virus she created herself. This made her a dangerous monster. Claire killed Alfred and Alexander, but Alexia captured Steve and poisoned Claire. Meanwhile, I had just gotten a message from Leon. It seems that before Claire left Rockfort, she sent Leon an E-mail telling him to contact me. He had an easy time because Umbrella had an eye on me and Claire had found out where I was. I got to Rockfort only to find out I was too late. I managed to get to the Antarctic base and found Claire. I got her the antidote for the poison and together went looking for Steve. We ran into some major problems. One was that Steve had been turned into a monster by Alexia and was sent after Claire. The second was that Wesker, the bastard whom I thought had died at the Spencer Mansion, was alive and infected with a new virus. It gave him super strength and made him more deadly than before. The only satisfaction I got from this was when Alexia kicked his ass with one slap! To cut to the chase, Claire killed Alexia, who ended up turned into a huge blob. Sadly though, she also had to kill Steve. Before he died, he told Claire that he loved her. I managed to get a little revenge for Claire when I ended up dropping a nuke, which just happened to be on the plane we were escaping in, on the base, destroying it and the T-Veronica virus. I also hoped that Wesker had died in the blast, but even I couldn't be sure._

_ _

After all the others and I had been through, I thought that it couldn't get much worse. However, just like before I was wrong. Soon, all of us would be thrown into the biggest battle of our lives. A battle that would not only change our lives but put the fate of the world in our hands. It seemed that all the shit we had been through was just a taste of the hell to come. I guess I was right when I said this that night Jill, Barry, and I made our plan to take out Umbrella just a few months ago. THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Chris stood in front of a sink in a small bathroom. He then leaned on the sink as he stared into the mirror above it. He was well built, with broad shoulders, strong, muscular arms, and a flat, defined stomach. In fact, he looked just like a soldier in his white T-shirt and black jeans. Even his face looked like that of a soldier. His black hair looked as if it had once been in a crew cut. His hazel colored eyes had a slight look of intensity to them as he stared into his reflection. However, his face had a worn look to it. A look as if he had been through a war. It was more like hell. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.

Chris slowly opened his eyes. He stared at himself for a few minutes before looking out the door. His sister was asleep in her room. Chris smiled a little remembering how great it was to be with her again. It had been so long since he saw her. Sure, while he was in Raccoon he used to call her almost every night to talk to her or sent her a letter with money in it, but it wasn't the same as being in the same room with her. The fact that their parents were dead meant that she was the only family he had. It had killed him not to be able to tell her he was going to Europe. Even thought he wanted to call her, he knew that would only get her involved. Chris turned back to the mirror, his smile replaced with an angry glare.

"The fact that you didn't call her got her involved. Maybe if you told her everything she would have stayed in college like she was supposed to." Chris growled at himself.

Chris rarely smiled, if at all. Ever since his parents' funeral he had rarely smiled. It wasn't until he joined the Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. that he started to smile again. It was the first time in a long time he felt like he belonged, that he had real friends, that he felt wanted. Sure he had friends in the Air Force, but they weren't as close. He knew that cause when he left the Air Force after being discharged, he didn't miss those guys. The S.T.A.R.S. was a different story. He mourned for the ones who dies at the Spencer Estate, especially Forest. He also found it hard to leave Raccoon. Even though Barry and Jill said that they would meet up will him as soon they could, he still felt bad.

"Maybe you shouldn't have left your friends." Chris said, "Maybe if you didn't, you could have been there for Claire when arrived and you could have helped Jill too."

Chris closed his eyes and hung his head again. Ever since he got to Europe he thought about his decision. He felt guilty for leaving, but if Umbrella was to be taken down, he needed to leave. 

"I just hope they're OK." Chris mumbled, remembering he felt when he heard of Raccoon's destruction, remembering how he hoped that Jill, Barry, and the others had left before the missile had hit.

Suddenly, Chris was snapped out of his depression by the sound of someone screaming. It was coming from Claire's room.

"SHIT, Claire."

Chris bolted from the bathroom and ran down the short hall to his sister's room. He threw open the door to see Claire trashing in bed. 

"STEVE! NO STEVE DON'T!" Claire was having another one of her nightmares. It was always the same one. She was at the Antarctic base. She had just shot Steve in the heart and now he lay dying in her arms. Now in this one as in the others, she was begging for him not to die And like in the others, he told her he loved her and passed away.

"Claire, wake up. It's just a dream. Wake up" Chris sat on her bed and started to shake her.

Claire opened her eyes and looked at her brother. "Chris." She said, tears streaming down her face. "It was Steve, he..."

"Yes, I know. It's okay, it's over now."

"Why? Why did he have to die? Why did any of this have to happen?"

"I don't know Claire. I just don't know"

Claire wrapped her arms around her brother, resting her head on his chest, just like she used to when she was younger. Just like when she had nightmares of her parents deaths. Chris was always there, always holding her, making her feel better, feel safe. She didn't know what she would have done if Chris wasn't there to protect or comfort her. That's why she came looking for him. She found him, but she also found horrors she never dreamed of. She found death and suffering. Then she found Steve, only to have him ripped from her by that monster Alexia. Claire almost enjoyed killing that bitch, but it didn't matter. Nothing could bring Steve back, and no one could ever replace him. No one.

Chris held Claire close to him as she cried. Chris closed his eyes trying to think back to the last time he ever cried. He knew it had to be before their parents died. After the funeral Chris swore he would never cry again. He knew he had to be strong for Claire's sake. She couldn't see him break down, couldn't see him be weak. Ever since then he never showed any weakness, any fear, any feelings. When he got to Raccoon, things changed. He began to loosen up, began to show his feelings. However, Umbrella had brought that to a crashing halt. Chris had made a new vow, until Umbrella was defeated, he wouldn't show any weakness again. He also knew that if he ever did, it would have to be a major crisis.

Claire had settled down after a couple of minutes and fell asleep. Chris was now sitting at the table of their small kitchen. Chris looked around at the apartment. It was the best place he could afford in London. He had decided to come to this city instead of going back to Paris, or any other city in Europe for that matter. From what Leon had told him and what he heard from Claire, Umbrella had him under tight surveillance. Chris knew he needed time and couldn't worry about Umbrella. He had more important things like his sister's emotional state and trying to find his friends, if they were still alive. Anyway, the place was nice. It had two bedrooms connected to the bathroom by a hall on one end. On the opposite end was a small kitchen with a counter. Next to this was a small table Chris was sitting at. The living room was in between. It had a couch with a side table, a TV set against the wall, and a desk pushed up next to one of the two windows that looked out into the city. Chris had a laptop computer on it. He had learned how to hack into other computers and spent hours breaking into Umbrella's files. Chris now stared at the laptop.

'Maybe I should try to search for the other. At least I could contact this Leon guy Claire told me about.'

Chris' concentration was broken by Claire coming out of her room. She had on a pink cotton nightshirt and matching pants. Her long, brown hair that she usually kept in a ponytail now hung down over her shoulders. Her face was red from the tears she had wept. Her once cheerful, soft, brown eyes were now full of sadness. She slowly walked to the table and sat down.

"Hey"

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks to you Chris. What time is it?"

"It's about 10:30. I was about to go out and get some more food. I thought I should wait till you were up. Hungry ?"

"No, I'll wait till you get back." Claire didn't want to burden her brother. He had done enough to put up with her emotional problem. Besides, she could cook for herself. She had to while she was in college since she lived with two friends off campus. One thing that she prided herself on was how independent she was. She didn't need her brother to wait on her hand and foot. If there was one thing she disliked about Chris was that he was too damn protective. 

"Fine, I'll try to get something good for dinner. How about steak?"

"That would be great bro."

"Steak it is then." Chris tried to sound enthusiastic, hoping to make Claire feel better. He knew though that it was a wasted effort. Chris walked into his room and grabbed his wallet and keys off the dresser. He then headed for the door, grabbing his brown jacket from the rack next to the door. He was about to leave when he turned to Claire "Lock the door and don't let anyone in but me. Got it."

"Sure Chris." Claire had heard that every time her brother went out. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I won't be long." Chris closed the door and threw on his jacket. 'Hell, it's going to be cold out there today' Chris thought as he headed for the elevator. It was always cold in London. It was cold the first two times he was here. It was really cold during the winter months. It didn't snow in London, however Chris soon learned that it rained a lot. Combined with the fog, the weather was sometimes unbearable. Chris wondered how the people here could stand it. 

Chris walked out into the parking lot. It was actually the basement of the apartment complex that had been gutted because the tenants had cause a fuss over having to park in an abandon lot next door. They didn't feel like having their cars stolen or vandalized. This way, the tenants could feel safe because only people living in the complex could come into the parking lot. That was one reason Chris had picked this place from the other complexes around the city. He didn't feel like having Umbrella's goons rig his car with a bomb. He walked to his car, a black BMW. He had bought it two months ago while in Berlin. Before he went to rescue Claire, he had an old friend in Paris hold on to it for him. He got in and started the engine. He liked the car for two reasons. One, it was fast and was built for performance. Two, the body could take abuse. The Beemer had gotten him out of some tight spots in the past. Chris buckled up and pulled out of his space. He stopped at the gate to be let out.

"How are you Chris.", the security guard said. Chris had became friends with the guy. His name was Jack. He had brown eyes and short, black hair. He was a nice man and one of the few people who would even talk to Chris or his sister.

"Good. Tell me something, Scotland Yard still looking for you?" Chris said with a smirk.

"No, they gave up last night. Going out for something?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the store to get some steaks for Claire."

"How is the lass doing?" Jack asked. "She didn't have one of those bad dreams did she?"He had quickly become friends with her, always wondering how she was doing. Chris had told him about what she went thru. After that, Jack was concerned about how she was dealing with it all. That was one thing Chris liked about him, he cared.

"She did, but she got over it. I think she's getting better. She's a strong person you know."

"You know, I don't blame her for this. Hell, if I went through that, I'd be in a padded cell right now. I just hope you teach those bastards a lesson."

"Don't worry. I intend to pay them back big time. I'll see you later."

"I'll be here Chris." Jack said as he hit the button to lift up the tollgate. "Have a safe trip."

Chris nodded and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. "At least the weather will be good today." Chris said to himself as he noticed the clear sky. What he failed to notice was the black Sedan that was waiting for him a few blocks down, the Sedan that began to follow him as he drove past it, the Sedan with the red and white Umbrella logo on the license plate.

Chris loaded the groceries into the back seat. He had gotten six steaks, two for him, two for Claire, and two in case Jack would join them for dinner. Chris felt he had to pay Jack back the gift basket Jack had given them when they first moved in. It was more of a gift crate. It had enough food to last Chris and Claire for a week. Chris smiled as he remembered how the promised to make it up to Jack. Jack told him that he didn't have to, but Chris had been told by his parents that if someone did something nice to him, he should return the favor.

"Well Jack, I'm going to pay you back tonight if I have to drag you over to my place myself." 

Chris had also bought some ice cream for Claire. It was Rocky Road, her favorite. Besides, he thought that it would make her feel better. Chris finished loading the car, and after returning the cart to the store, got in the car and took off.

Chris was halfway back to the apartment. He decided to go for a ride to help ease his mind. He thought about driving past Buckingham Palace, but instead drove by Big Ben. Buckingham Palace was too far out of his way and to top it off, the sky was getting cloudy. The last thing he needed was to be caught in a rainstorm. Plus, something else was bothering him. He had just noticed it a few minutes ago. A black car had been following him for some time, and the fact that it had a familiar symbol on the plate didn't make the situation any better.

"Screw the weather" Chris groaned, "I got to shake this guy before I lead him to my front door." 

He tried to loose his pursuer without letting on that he knew, with no luck. "To hell with this." Chris stepped on it, the BMW shooting off. The Sedan accelerating to catch up. "YOU WANT ME, COME AND CATCH ME!" Chris yelled as he hung a sharp right. By now, Chris had hit the busy highway. He began to swerve around the other car, the sounds of horns blaring in response. The Sedan was still behind, matching Chris move for move.

"Dammit! I have to get rid of him before we cause an accident. But how." Chris' mind was working on how to ditch the Sedan. He turned off onto a one-way street, the other car in hot pursuit. With nothing in front of him, Chris gunned the engine, the Beemer accelerating down the street. The Sedan caught up and then did something Chris didn't expect, it rammed him. 

'What the fuck!' Chris thought, 'What is this guy doing. Why would he try to stop me. He needs me to find out where we are, unless...' At that instant, it flashed into Chris' mind. Maybe this guy knew where Chris and Claire were. Maybe this guy was waiting for Chris to leave, waiting to take Chris out so he wouldn't be there when this guy went after...

"CLAIRE!" 

Chris glared at the review mirror. He had to take the bastard out, and fast. The Sedan rammed him again, then a third time. The car then began to move along side Chris, forcing him into the right lane. The car then slammed into Chris, who then fought not to smash into another car parked along the street. Chris retaliated by slamming into the Sedan. Chris looked at his opponent, staring at the tinted window with an angry look. That look turned to shock as the window lowered to reveal a man with a gun.

"CHRIST."

Chris ducked as the man fired, the bullet shattering the driver side window. This was followed by another quick slam. Chris knew he was in trouble. He didn't have his gun, it was sitting on his bed in the apartment. Also, if his attacker shot out a tire, at the speed both cars were going, Chris would go into a wild rollover. He also saw another, more serious threat. Up ahead was an oil truck. If he didn't act fast, chances were that he would be pushed into it. Chris started thinking fast before he saw a car parked on the left a little ways before the oil truck. Chris grinned as he came up with his plan. All he needed now was an opportunity. His grin grew wider as he saw it. The gunman had his arm outside the window, just low enough, ready to shot Chris' tire.

"Want to play hard ball, then I'll play rough."

Chris suddenly swerved into the Sedan, the gunman screaming as his arm was crushed between the two cars. With the driver distracted, Chris slammed into his pursuer again, but this time starting to push the Sedan to the left. The driver tried to push back, but the BMW was more powerful than the Sedan was. Chris locked eyes with the Sedans driver, almost pushing the car into the building. Chris veered to the right and shot out in front. The Sedan's driver looked ahead to see the parked car he was quickly approaching. He tried to avoid it, but it was too late. Like Chris had planned, the Sedan hit the parked car at an angle, the car acting like a ramp to send the Sedan rocketing off to the right. The Sedan went into a barrel roll before slamming on its roof. Chris slammed on the brakes, the BMW screeching to a halt. Chris watched as the Sedan skidded into the oil truck, which exploded in a huge fireball. 

"Play with Redfield, you get burned." Chris said to himself as he drove away from the burning wreak.

"HOLY SHIT! The bloody hell happened to you?" Jack exclaimed as Chris pulled up to the gate.

"Got into a little accident, that's all." Chris said, a nonchalant look on his face.

"Little! That's not what I call little. Your car's all banged up." Jack pointed at the BMW. It had dents running along the whole right side.

Chris knew that nothing got by Jack. He was too smart. "I got trailed by some Umbrella agents. They tried to take me out, but I got them instead."

"What did you do?"

"I crashed them into a fuel truck."

Jack was speechless. "How did you do that?"

"How about I tell you over dinner." Chris said. "I got some steaks for you."

"Awe, Chris. If this is about that box I gave you, I told ya already, you don't have to pay be back."

"Come on Jack. Think of it as a couple of friends getting together. You know Claire would be thrilled." 

Jack finally gave in. "Fine, if it'll get you of my back, I will."

"OK." Chris said, "How about eight."

"That would be great. I'll see you then." With that, Jack pushed the button for the gate. The bar lifted up as Chris drove his battered car into the parking lot. It wasn't until he was past Jack that his casual expression changed to that of a serious one. If this incident meant what he thought it did, he and Claire would have to move, and soon.

Chris fumbled for his keys and unlocked the door. He grabbed the two bags he set down and walked in. He had been gone for over three hours. He knew this from the clock on the wall and the fact that Claire was dressed. She was on the couch watching soap operas, British soaps of course. She had on one of his dark red t-shirts, a pair of blue jeans, and socks. 

"Claire, I'm back." Chris called. Claire turned to look at her brother. He had decided in the elevator not to tell her about the car chase. God knows the last thing she needed to worry about was Umbrella breaking down their door.

"What took you so long?" Claire was obviously worry. Chris said that he wouldn't be gone long. She began to get concerned when two hours had gone by with Chris still gone. She had started to watch TV to take her mind off it, but when 1:30 can around, she feared that something had happened. 

"I just decided to take a little detour." He hesitated before continuing. "I needed time to think."

"OK" Claire could tell something was troubling him, but she didn't bother to ask. "Did you get the steaks?"

"Yeah, I also got you some ice cream."

"Rocky Road?"

"You bet. Oh, Jack's coming over for steaks. He should be here at eight."

"Really!? That's great. It'll be nice to have company over for dinner." That was the best news Claire had heard in a while. She liked Jack. He always talked to her and her brother whenever they went out. She also remembered how he was the first person to welcome them. Then there was the welcoming present. Claire had a sneaking suspicion that this invitation was Chris' way of returning Jack's favor. Claire shook her head as she got up to she what Chris had bought for lunch.

## Author's comments: How was that for an opening. This is only the first part of my massive epic. (In others words, it's a really long story.)Sorry for the long intro, I tried to include enough background info in case some readers didn't play all the games. Also, this takes place after CV for the Dreamcast. I heard that CV Complete will come out for PSX2 and some things will be changed. I also decided to included Gun Survivor. A lot of fanfics tend to leave this game out. Since I wanted to use all the Resident Evil characters in this story of mine, I just couldn't leave out Ark. Besides, in my outline, he plays a major part in the story. Also, if there are any errors in the background part, tell me and I'll fix them. Some important things to mention. 1. At the beginning and end of each part, everything in italics is Chris' reflection about the story. It's just like a monologue in which Chris is talking about this as if it already happened. It makes sense when you read it. 2. "." obviously represents dialogue. '.' represents the character's thoughts. 3. All dialogue in caps means that the person is yelling or screaming. 4. This is my interpretation of what happens after the Resident Evil games out now. If any new games are released while I write this, I won't include anything from them. 5. Beemer is a nickname my neighbor has for his BMW. (Just thought you should know.) 

Anyway, enough talk. In chapter II, we find that other events have been happening during this time. One of those is that Jill is looking for someone and Carlos is along to help. Who is she seeking, and what is the relationship between the two. Find out in RE Armageddon: Part One, Chapter II- Desperate Search.


	2. Desparate Search

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me. 

Resident Evil: Armageddon

# Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 2- Desperate Search

Written by: Striker

Jill sat on her bed. In her hands was a small picture. It had been taken around the beginning of May, before the "cannibal murders" had begun. In the picture were Jill and Chris. It was taken when the S.T.A.R.S. went to Raccoon City Park for a picnic one weekend. She sighed as she remembered the day. The weather was perfect. Clear, blue sky with a gentle breeze. The guys were playing football while she and Rebecca were busy setting the picnic table. The whole idea was Barry's. This outing was set up to welcome Rebecca who had joined a few days before. Barry always did things like this to make newcomers feel like part of the team. She remembered how Barry had done a similar thing when she joined. They had all gone camping. Then there was Chris. Barry had known Chris before and was the one that got Chris to sign up. For that the team went to Grady's Inn to celebrate, or in some cases to get smashed. Jill smiled as she remembered how nervous Chris was. He really seemed like he wasn't a people person. By the end of the night though, he had began to loosen up. By the time the picture had been taken, Chris seemed like he had been with the S.T.A.R.S. for years. The photo had been taken by a large fountain. Barry and Forest had ushered them over to it, Barry insisting that he had to get a picture of the "cute couple" and Forest spouting off some romantic gibberish. 

"Those two were always on our backs. Chris and I should have gone on a date just to shut them up." Jill said to herself. "Only then we'd have to deal with their "theories" on what happened."

She smiled as she shook her head. Her gaze then returned to the picture. Chris had on one of his white T-shirts, she swore that was all he bought, a pair of light brown shorts, and a pair of white sneakers. She had on a red T-shirt with RPD written in blue on the front, a pair of denim shorts, a pair of hiking boots, and her favorite beret from her days as a Delta. They were standing together, with Chris on her right. Chris had his arm around her waist and she had her hand on his left shoulder, all at the request of Barry. Barry had always said the she and Chris belonged together. He had a way of slipping in hints that he knew she had feelings for Chris and vice versa. 

"Maybe he's right." 

Jill looked up at the mirror above the set of drawers in her hotel room, her smile slipping away. She had changed a lot since then. The events of the Spencer Mansion and the outbreak at Raccoon had taken their toll on her. Physically, she hadn't changed much. She still had her slender, well-toned figure, though she did put on a pound or two. Her hair she had dyed black and had let grow down to her shoulders. She claimed it was to hide her identity, stating the Umbrella would be looking for a woman with short, red hair, not a woman with long, black hair. In reality, it was her way of putting the past behind her. In her mind, the old Jill had died in Raccoon. The Jill that escaped was different. This Jill now had only one goal, to make Umbrella pay for its sins, no matter how long it took. She could tell by her eyes. In the photo, her bright, blue eyes were full of energy and happiness. Now her eyes had lost that brightness. They looked tired and full of sadness. Sadness over the death of her friends, for the lose of her home, for the hundreds of innocent people who died because of Umbrella's greed. But those weren't the only reasons. There was one, more important, reason.

Jill set down the picture. Standing up, she walked to the dresser and took her wallet. Opening it up, she pulled out a small wallet-size photo. As she looked at it, she sighed, one word passing her lips.

"Chris"

It was a picture only two people had seen. It was just like the one laying in its frame on her bed. The only difference was that in this one, Chris was looking at her, a wanting look on his face. Apparently, Barry had accidentally taken another picture of them. Chris thought that Barry had only taken one, and since the flash wasn't on, Chris didn't know until he had heard the shutter click. Chris had turned to look at her, and when he heard the camera, had snapped his head back. She had gone with Barry to get the pictures developed. When they came back, she and Barry saw this photo. Jill had it immediately made into a wallet-size picture and made Barry promise not to tell anyone about it. 

"Chris, where are you?" Jill walked back over to the bed. She had been looking for Chris for three months now. She knew she had to find him. "Chris, we will be back together. And when that happens, we'll take out Umbrella together."

Suddenly there was a knock at her door. "Hey Jilly, it's Carlos."

"Wait a minute." Jill said as she shoved the picture into her pocket and stuffed the other one under the covers of her bed. "You can come in now."

The door opened and a Hispanic man walked in. He was clad in a black tank top and black pants. His messy, brown hair looked like it needed to get cut. He brushed a few strands from his eyes as he spoke. "I got some bad news for you, Jill."

"What's it about?"

"It's about your friend Chris."

Jill's heart sank. The two of them had been following Chris' trail, hoping that they would catch up with him. So far, they were in Paris. Carlos had just come back from asking around. He had hacked into Umbrella's computer system and learned that Umbrella had Chris under their eye in this city. On Jill's request, Carlos had been out all morning looking. Now he had to tell Jill what he found, and he knew she wouldn't like it.

"Give it to me" Jill said, ready for the worst.

"Well, I got good news and bad news. Good news is that Chris is probably still alive. The bad news is that we just missed him."

"By how much?" Jill was relieved to find out that Chris had just moved on before they got here and wasn't dead. 

"The desk clerk at the hotel Chris was staying at said the he left about three weeks ago. He told me that Chris left to handle some "personal" problems. The guy said the Chris wouldn't tell him much, but boy, he said that amigo left in a hurry."

"That's funny. Didn't someone try to break into the Umbrella HQ around the same time?"

Carlos saw what Jill was getting at. "You don't think that it was Chris, do you Jilly?"

"No Carlos. It couldn't have been Chris. The person was caught. Besides, it was a woman."

Carlos felt his face getting red. "I guess your right."

Jill smiled at Carlos, who was embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. "Hey, don't feel so stupid, we all make mistakes."

Carlos looked at Jill and smiled. She had that way of making people feel better. He looked at the wall, which was covered with yellow, flowered wallpaper. He thought for a while before coming up with an idea. "Maybe this woman was a friend of his and he took off to save her."

"You think?" 

Carlos turned to Jill. He picked up the slight jealous tone in her voice. "Maybe it was Rebecca. You did tell me that little senorita was like a sister to him." Carlos said, talking fast. 

"I don't think so. None of us have heard from Rebecca for a long time. She vanished right after we returned from that damn mansion." Jill knew what Carlos was trying to do. 

"Well, whoever she is, Chris probably knew her. Who knows how many allies Chris has by now."

"The only problem is," Jill said with a sigh, "that if Chris did know her, and if he did save her, he wouldn't have come back, not with Umbrella waiting for him."

"I guess now all we have to do is wait till one of Umbrella's labs gets blown up."

Jill looked back at Carlos with an inquisitive look. "Why?"

"Because," Carlos said grinning, "chances are it'll be Chris who did it."

Carlos winked, then turned to leave. He was almost out the door before Jill spoke.

"Thanks Carlos."

"No problem." Carlos began to leave, but stopped and turned. "Don't worrysenorita, we'll find your friend. Can't be too many places he could be." With that said, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Jill smiled as Carlos left. He was a great guy. The fact that he risked his own neck to get her the T-virus vaccine proved alone how much of a friend he was. The two had grown close during the past few months. In fact, she was almost as close to him as she was to Chris. That was the bad part. Sure she liked him, hell, she found him veryhansom. She also knew he found her attractive. She had been gifted with a great body. Wherever she would go, guys would either stare or whistle at her. She also had a great mind too. She knew full well that most of those guy just wanted her for her looks. Carlos was different. He like her for who she was. He looked past her beauty and concentrated on her personality. In her life she knew of only one other man who did the same thing. Chris. She remembered the day they met. She had been sitting at her desk when Wesker called for everyone's attention. Barry had told her she'd get along great with Chris. Well, when Chris came in, Jill's jaw almost hit the floor. She had found him very attractive. Barry had noticed and told her Chris was to be her partner. That was how she had got to know Chris. He was different from the other guys. All the women in the RPD were practically fighting over him, but he just brushed them off. He was very shy at first, something Jill had found cute. Even as they became friends, Chris kept some things to himself. She also noticed that he had feelings for her. She did too, but didn't say anything for fear of scaring him off. However, he did tell her, whether he knew it or not, at the Spencer Estate. He covered her while they ran to the house, he rescued her in the basement even when the place was going to blow, and more importantly, he risked his life to save her from the Tyrant, suffering broken ribs in the process before blowing the Tyrant to bits. He also showed her he cared when he left. She could tell he was fighting back tears when he said goodbye. It took all her will to not tell him to stay. 

'If only I did.' Jill thought, 'I wouldn't be looking for him. We'd be taking Umbrella down, together, like we said we would.'

Jill could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She pulled the covers of her bed back, retrieving the picture. She thought back to when she got it. She and Carlos had just escaped from Raccoon, with Barry's help. Barry had left to check on his family and find a new safe house for the group. The two of them then went to the last place she knew Chris was. When they arrived, the only things they found were Chris' knife and a puddle of blood. Jill was afraid that Chris was dead, but Carlos had found a note taped to the mirror in his room. It said that he was fine but couldn't stay. Carlos suggested that they take anything they could find in the hideout, as it might be useful. Jill had found the picture face down on the floor. The glass was broken, put the photo was fine. She remembered how she had waited until Carlos had left before shoving it into her bag.

Now as she stared at the picture, she knew she loved Chris, and would not rest until she found him. She also knew that Carlos was probably in love with her. The only thing she didn't know was how she would break the news that she wasn't in love with him.

Carlos entered his room. It was a few rooms down from Jill, but at least they were on the same floor. 'I wonder who this Chris guy is like? I wonder he'll get along with me? Will he even trust me?' Carlos knew of Chris' hatred for Umbrella all too well from both Jill and Barry. But Carlos wasn't Umbrella anymore. In his mind, he quit when he found out that he was just a pawn. He and his friends had been set up to act as test subjects, and the lying snake Nicholai was in on it the whole time. Carlos had found this out at the hospital while getting the vaccine for Jill. Nicholai had tried not only to shot him, but also like the coward he was, tried to blow him up with the whole building! Carlos hung his head as he remembered finding what was left of his friends lying in the streets. He would never forgive Nicholai for what happened at Raccoon. He couldn't wait for the day when he had Nicholai at gunpoint, to see the bastard sweat, to see the fear in his eyes, to hear him beg for his pathetic life. Then Carlos would smile and then...

"DAMMIT!"

Carlos slammed his hand on the dresser, causing everything on it to shake violently. Carlos had wanted to track Nicholai down right after he got out of Raccoon, but Jill asked him to help her find Chris. 

"Jill." 

Just saying her name calmed him down. He looked in his mirror. He used to fancy himself a ladies man. He claimed he could win any woman's' heart, and usually he did. All that changed when he was sent to Raccoon. It was there that he met Jill. At first, he found her attractive, and immediately began to work him "magic" on her. It seemed, however, that she was used to that kind of attention and kept shooting him down. He fondly remembered the one time he cradled her face in his hand, only to have her slap him across the face. He put his hand up to his right cheek, smiling as he remembered how much it stung. After that, he got to know her. He helped her out a number of times and the two became friends. In fact, he never could recall any time that he was more terrified than when Jill was infected by the Nemesis. Never in his life was he consumed by more hatred when he saw Jill fall, the nightmare standing over her like it was mocking her. He didn't know what came over him, all he knew was that he charged the Nemesis and didn't stop firing until it was dead. He never forgot how he felt when he carried her into the clock tower, or the thoughts going through his head as he headed for the hospital. The worst was when he gave Jill the vaccine. He watched her those three days, never leaving her side. He would never forget the very words he said.

"Jill, please don't die." Carlos closed his eyes, a tear falling down his face as he softly spoke those words. "But you didn't, did you?" Carlos opened his eyes, then wiped them with his hand.

He was relieved when Jill came to. He never felt happier when it seemed like she was cured completely. She had looked into his eyes with her deep blue ones and thanked him It was in that instant that he knew he fell for her. 

After that, they had managed to get to Umbrella's factory and radio for help. If it wasn't for Jill's friend Barry, they would have been toast. As he had looked out the window, he heard Jill make her vow to take out Umbrella. She was right, they had gone to far. Making a virus of one thing, but to infect and then convince the government to annihilate an entire city with a nuclear missile was crossing the line. 

After they had landed a few miles from what used to be Raccoon. Barry had left to see his family. Jill had filled him in on how Wesker had used Barry's family to blackmail him. This infuriated Carlos. The more he heard about Umbrella's acts, the more he hated them. He had wanted to begin taking the corporation apart starting with Nicholai, but Jill had told him that first they needed to find someone, and that man was Chris. So, for the last couple months, they had been playing bloodhound trying to find Chris.

"Senor, why the hell couldn't you stay in one place?"

Carlos had questioned Jill about the man. His first impression of that Chris was a coward. Why else would he leave his friends in Raccoon City and go to Europe? If he was such a good friend, why didn't he stay with Jill and be there for her? Why didn't HE come to rescue them instead of Barry? He also saw Chris as a potential rival for Jill's affections. Now it wasn't that he hated Chris, in was just that he didn't like how the guy had acted. Jill had soon answered all of his questions. First, she told him that it was the group's decision to split up. Jill had made the decision to stay in Raccoon City. She also told him that Chris wanted to go to Europe together, and how he almost came to breaking down when he said goodbye. She spoke very highly of him, and soon Carlos' view was changed. Carlos soon saw Chris as a loyal, trustworthy, brave, and determine man. He also saw Chris as someone who had a problem telling others how he felt. Lastly Carlos had come to see something else. 

There was something in Jill's voice when she spoke of Chris. It was like she didn't have to find him, it was like she needed to find him. It was almost as if she would go through hell itself to find him. Carlos knew why. Jill didn't know it, but he saw her take that picture of her and Chris. He had seen her put it in her bag. She thought that he didn't notice, but he saw the writing on the wall. He knew she felt incomplete without Chris. He knew they had something. Sure, he and Jill had become as close as friends could be without becoming lovers, but that would be as close as they were going to get. He knew whom she really loved. She loved Chris. 

Carlos looked at himself, recalling an old saying he had heard a long time ago. "Sometimes that best way to show someone you love them is to let them go." Carlos felt his eyes tear up as he made his promise. "When we do find Chris, I won't stand in the way." 

It was nine when Jill knocked on Carlos' door.

"I'm almost ready" Carlos' voice was muffed by the thick, wooden doors.

"Fine." Jill was nervous. She had the right to be. She made up her mind, she was going to tell Carlos the truth. She had been practicing in front of the mirror for over an hour. She knew what she would say, the question was could she say it to Carlos without sending their relationship six feet under. 'Come on Jill, you'll have to tell him sooner or later' Jill's thoughts were ended as Carlos came out.

"Ready Jill?"

"Ready."

Jill and Carlos had decided to go out to a small street cafe Carlos had heard that Chris had frequently gone to before he spilt. Carlos had gotten the name, "The Fayle." Apparently, you could see the Eiffel Tower. It would be romantic, but it wasn't the time or the place for that kind of thing. They quickly got to the cafe and ordered. It was a while before one of them spoke.

"Carlos, there's something I have to tell you."

Carlos looked up from his dinner. "What is it?"

"It's about us. I know that in these past couple of weeks we've gotten to be really close. I, I feel that we have to talk about our relationship."

'Here it comes.' It didn't really surprise him. They would have this talk someday. He was just glad it would be tonight. "Go on."

"Well, I..."

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Shit!" Jill grabbed her cell phone from her purse. This talk would have to wait. "Hello?"

"Hey Jill. How are you?" A gruff voice answered. 

A smile spread across Jill's face as she instantly recognized who it was. "Hey Barry. I'm fine. I guess this means you found a new hideout."

"I sure did, and it's a beauty. Is Carlos there with you?"

"Yes he is. You just caught us in the middle of dinner."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. It's 3:30 here, so there it's..."

"9:30."

"Sorry. Tell me, where are you? Did you two find Chris yet? I'm getting worried."

Jill knew how Barry felt. He and Chris were old friends. Barry had found Chris while he was still a drifter. The two hit it off and soon after, Chris became a member of S.T.A.R.S. After Chris had left for Europe, Barry left for Canada with his wife and two girls. He planned to link up with Chris, but got sidetracked by personal matters. Barry had wanted to go with them to search for Chris, but he had the important job of finding someplace where they could meet up. For that reason he had given Jill a cell phone and his number so she could let him know when she found Chris. 

"Well, right now we're in Paris. Chris was here , but he left a few weeks before we got here. We think he went to save the person who got caught breaking into Umbrella's main HQ."

"WHAT! What kind of idiot would try to sneak into Umbrella's headquarters?"

"I don't know, but she had to have a good reason. We also think that she was a friend of Chris."

"Then why would Chris send in someone alone?"

"Maybe he thought that one person could moved around undetected better than a whole group."

"Yeah, well, if he did go on a rescue mission, he should be back in town by now."

"Chances are he won't. Umbrella had him under surveillance. That's how we knew he was in this city."

"CHRIST! Now it'll take a miracle to find him. He could be anywhere. Hell, at this rate, it'll take a miracle for us to bring Umbrella down."

Jill knew Barry was right. How were they to stop Umbrella when they were still separated. "God, we shouldn't have split up."

"It's too late for that now. Don't worry, since I found our hideout, I'll start looking for Chris too. I'll check to see if Umbrella had any of their labs or facilities attacked within the last four weeks. If they did..."

"It's a sure bet Chris may be involved." Jill finished for him, "Carlos had the same idea."

Jill smiled at Carlos, who nodded back.

"OK Jill. I'll let you go. Call me if you find anything. I'll call if I find something on my end."

"I will. Bye Barry."

Jill hung up and put the phone back in her purse. "Well Carlos, looks like we have a new home when we find Chris." This was the first thing that had gone right all day.

Carlos looked at Jill, 'Time to get this over with.' "So Jill, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Jill replied. She then looked down and began to finish her salad. 'Damn you Jill, Damn you.'

The two got back to the hotel and went straight to their rooms. When they got to Carlos' room, he grabbed her arm.

"Jill, I have to say something."

'Oh no, not now,' Jill thought as she faced him. "What is it?"

"Us. Look, I know what you wanted to say at dinner. I understand."

Jill was shocked at this. "What do you mean you understand?"

"I know you love Chris. I know about the picture you have. I know everything Jill."

"Are you sure? You're not hurt by this?"

"I know you and Chris had something before this whole Umbrella thing happened. I just want you to know that I won't stand between you two. I just want you to be happy."

Carlos learned towards Jill and kissed her on the cheek. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. 

"Thank you Carlos. Thank you for saying this for me." She began to walk towards her room before she turned back to Carlos. "Don't worry Carlos. I'm sure you'll meet the right girl someday."

Carlos watched as Jill got to her room and waited until she got in before he spoke. "Your right Jill. There's only one problem, I already did." With that said, Carlos opened his door and walked in, pausing before he shut the door.

## Author's Comments- Didn't see that coming, did you? This is my spin on the classic Chris, Jill, Carlos love triangle. I did this for several reasons. First, I'm a big fan of Chris-Jill stories. Second, I used a little common sense in this one. If you're looking for proof of this, it's in the story. Third, this little dynamic between Jill and Carlos will play a major role in the plot to come. Also I guessed the time zone thing and the cafe's name I made up. One more major thing. For continuity's sake, everything happening in the first six chapters of this part are happening at the same time.

In the next chapter, Leon and Sherry run into a familiar face. Who is this person, and what have Leon and Sherry been doing. Find out this and more in RE Armageddon: Part One, Chapter III- Chance Meeting.


	3. Chance Meeting

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me.

Resident Evil: Armageddon

# Part I- Prelude to Destruction

## Chapter 3- Chance Meeting

Written by: Striker

"Ark, what is taking you so long? You said you would call me a while ago."

Leon stared at the message his friend had sent to him by E-mail. It was brief and to the point. It read.

Dear Leon

This is Ark. You were right about the whole Umbrella thing. There was a factory on Sheena Island. They were doing some horrible things. According to Rott and Lily, Umbrella had kidnapped young boys from around the world. I then found out the scientists were extracting the brain fluid from the boys, while they were still alive! This fluid was then used to make Tyrants. I managed to blow up the island and escape. By the way, Rott and Lily were two children I rescued. They lost their parents, just like Sherry. I also found some documents concerning Raccoon City. They may be important. I don't know when I can contact you again, but I'll try to call you soon to see where I can find you. Umbrella has been on our tail ever since we got to Europe. I'll try to get back to the states as soon as I shake those pricks. See you then buddy.

Your Friend

Ark Thompson

That message had been sent five weeks ago. Ever since then, Leon had been waiting for Ark to call him. Whatever Ark found, Leon knew it would be valuable in their crusade against Umbrella. He remembered when he had contacted Ark. It was while the government was trying to cut Leon a deal. Leon had at first thought that they wanted him to keep silent. He was surprised when they asked for his help. It seemed that the U.S. government didn't know of Umbrella's experiments. The fact that they had to destroy one of their own towns because of Umbrella's accident had really pissed them off. Leon had thought about saying yes. He didn't because of two things. The first was that he knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed Claire's help, and the help of her brother Chris. He also hoped that by Claire finding Chris, they would find the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. team. The second thing was Sherry. He knew she needed someone she trusted to look after her. After Claire had left to find Chris, Sherry had been depressed. Claire meant a lot to her. She looked up to Claire as somewhat of a mother. He couldn't leave her, she didn't need to worry about two people going off to surly get killed. He had said no to the deal, expecting the guy not to take no for an answer. He received a second shock when the man accepted his answer. The deal, the official had told him, was still there. All Leon had to do was call them. It was when Leon was about to leave that he ran into his old friend. He was surprised to find out that Ark had a job working for the government. Ark had heard about the situation, but didn't believe any of it. Leon had then asked Ark to go to Sheena Island to see for himself. Leon had found out about the island, but couldn't go because of Sherry. Ark agreed. Leon had given Ark his E-mail address so they could get in touch after Ark was done investigating. 

"I guess you believe me now, don't you?" Leon mussed. That had been in November. Now it was January. "I just hope I get to tell you I told you so."

"Hey Leon."

Leon turned to see Sherry come into the den. He smiled at her. She looked so cute in that little pink dress he had gotten her while they were in Miami. He was amazed by how well the twelve year old was dealing with their current situation. They had been constantly on the move. Umbrella had been trying to get their hooks into Sherry. Leon shuddered when he thought of what they wanted to do to her. She had become very valuable because she had been infected by the G-virus. He had done everything to protect her, and that meant staying one step ahead of Umbrella. They were currently in Buffalo, living in a three-bedroom house that he had rented. He could afford it, due to the $500,000 that magical appeared in his bank account. Leon knew who had gave him the money, and why. He also figured that Ark had something to do with it. 

"Hey Sherry. How are you doing today?"

"Find. Whatcha reading? Is it from Claire? Is she coming here?"

"No, it's just the letter Ark sent me."

"Oh." Sherry lowered her head, her hopes shattered.

Leon's heart ached as he watched her. It had been three weeks since he had gotten the E-mail from Claire telling him she was in trouble and to tell her brother. Leon had an easy time calling Chris. Umbrella had been watching him for a while. Claire had found the name of the hotel Chris was at, and a simple search over the net had provided the number. Leon had called the hotel and got Chris. 'Boy was that guy pissed. He sounded like he was going to kill someone.' Leon thought, remembering Chris' reaction. Soon after, Sherry had been waiting for Claire to call. She would ask almost every day when Leon thought Claire would call them. "Soon Sherry," Leon would say. He had done this in order to keep Sherry's hopes going. What he chose to keep from her was his fear that Claire may be dead. Chances were that Chris may have been too late, that Claire may have been dead before he got there, or that both had died escaping from that prison. 

What was the name? Rockport, Rockcourt, Rockfort. Yeah, Rockfort. 

Leon pushed the thought from his mind. He didn't want Sherry to see him like this and ask him what was wrong. He had to believe that both Claire and her brother were both alive. With that thought, Leon decided to cheer the young girl up.

"Don't worry Sherry, Claire knows my E-mail address. I'm sure she'll send a message anytime now."

"But what's taking her so long?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe she forgot your address. Maybe she forgot about us. Maybe she's dead." Sherry looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

"Don't say that. She probably hasn't tried to contact us because Umbrella may be after her. She's probably afraid that Umbrella will trace the message to us."

"How do you know?"

Leon could see that Sherry had the same fear that he had. She was also looking for Leon to comfort her.

"I know because I believe that she's alive. You have to believe too, Sherry. We can't lose hope that both Claire and her brother are fine. Do you understand?"

"I do. I just wish she wouldn't take so long."

"Look at it this way. You remember Ark, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, right now I'm waiting for him to contact me. It's a safe bet that by now Ark has found some people to help him. Now, who went to save Claire?"

"Chris."

"Right. So when Claire comes here, Chris will be with her. Also, Claire told me that Chris has friends who are after Umbrella too. Chances are good that Chris' friends..."

"Will have friends of their own." Sherry could see where Leon was taking this.

"That's right Sherry." Leon knew that Sherry was smart. That was one thing he liked about her. Leon continued. "If I'm right, then when we finally all get together." Leon nodded to Sherry.

"Then we'll have enough people to beat Umbrella!"

"Now that we know that, all we have to do is be patient and wait. We'll win Sherry, it'll just take time." 

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know kid," Leon sighed, "I don't know."

He didn't know how long this battle against Umbrella would take. It had taken to long already. For him, the fight began at the end of September, when he had escaped Raccoon City with Claire and Sherry. He knew this whole thing had really started in July when Chris and his allies had discovered what was going on in some mansion in the mountains. Leon prayed that this war would be over soon. It had to. He knew that those fighting Umbrella were tired. He knew this was taking its toll of the survivors, and there was no telling when any of them, himself included, would crack. That's way he hoped that both Ark and Claire would get in touch with him soon. 

"Hey Sherry, you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Go get ready and we'll go out for lunch." Leon knew that Sherry needed something to take her mind off Umbrella.

"Can we go to McDonalds?"

"Sure thing kid. Now go get ready."

"OK!" Sherry was about to leave the room when she stopped and turned to Leon. "Leon, I hope Claire comes back to us soon. I miss her." With that she left to brush her teeth and comb her hair.

"I miss her too." 

Leon missed Claire just as much, if not more, than Sherry did. He remembered when he first had met Claire. It wasn't the best time or place, to say the least. He had been driving for hours. He had been assigned to Raccoon City, a small city in the Pennsylvanian Poconos, because of the strange murders. He had left New York City earlier that morning. He was glad that the city was in the Northern part of Pennsylvania. He didn't favor the seven-hour drive to begin with. He had arrived at night, yet he found it strange that he hadn't of seen anyone out. That's when he saw the body. That's when he was attacked by zombies. After that, it was a blur. The next thing he could remember was running into Claire and saving her from becoming lunch. After that, they had escaped in a cop car to head for the RPD. If it wasn't for that unwanted passenger, they wouldn't have crashed or separated. He was relieved when they ran into each other in the S.T.A.R.S. office. He was also relieved when they managed to escape from the lab and the train. 

After the three of them had gotten out of that zombie-infested city, they had managed to find a place to stay. It was a small city a couple hundred miles south of Raccoon. The name of it was Hazelton, and it was there that they had made their plan. Leon had told her to find her brother. They both knew that they would need Chris' help. Claire had decided to stay a week or two before she left. It was during that time that Leon had gotten to know her. He also started to develop feelings for her. He didn't know if she felt the same way, so he didn't tell her. Besides, he had his heart broken already by one woman.

Ada. The brief time he knew her, he had managed to fall for her. Hell, he even took a bullet for her. He still had the scar above his heart, a grin reminder how close he came to dying. He was devastated when he found out who she was and how she had played him for a fool. Ironically, she fell for him and sacrificed her life to save him from the Tyrant. Tears came to his eyes as he recalled how he felt as she died in his arms, confessing her love for him. 

'She's dead Leon, get over it. Besides, you have to worry about Claire now.' Leon thought as he shut off his computer. 'And when she, her brother, and our friends get here, then I'll take Uncle Sam up on that little offer.' He then walked out of the den to get ready. 

Leon had on his green and yellow striped sweater and blue jeans as he came out of his room. He saw that Sherry had changed into a pink sweater with flowers all over it and a pair of sweatpants. 

"Ready Sherry?"

"Ready!"

Together they walked to the front door and got their coats from the coat stand. Leon out on a black leather jacket and Sherry put on her "Made In Heaven" jacket Claire had given her. They then walked out, Leon locking the door behind him, and got into Leon's jeep. It was like the one he had driven into Raccoon, but a different model. Leon started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. He started to whistle to himself, unaware of the major event that was to come.

Leon pulled into the McDonalds parking lot. Sherry hopped out and started to skip towards the door. 

"SHERRY, WAIT UP!" Leon called out.

Sherry stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Sorry Leon."

"It's OK. I just don't want anyone kidnapping you. Claire would kill me."

The two walked into the crowded restaurant. A few minutes later, a yellow VW Beetle pulled up in the space next to the jeep. A young woman got out and looked around. She looked around 18 and had on a orange sweater under a brown jacket. She also had on a pair of blue windbreaker pants with white stripes running down the sides, and a familiar red bandanna wrapped around her brown hair.

"Finally, I'm here. Boy am I hungry." With that said, she walked to the restaurant.

Leon sipped at his soda. He looked over at Sherry, who was playing with her toy from her happy meal, a Matchbox car. Leon was going to get the Barbie doll, but Sherry wanted the car instead. 'I guess she's a tomboy. I bet Claire was just like her when she was 12.'

"Sherry, get ready. After I dump our trash, we're leaving."

"OK."

Leon took their tray to the trash bin and dumped the contents into in. He turned and bumped into another person.

"Sorry, miss."

"No problem." It was the young girl. Leon stared at her, a funny look on his face. Confused, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No. It's just that I have this funny feeling that I've seen you somewhere before."

"Well I don't think I've ever seen you in my life. Maybe you have me confused with someone else."

Leon could see she was getting nervous. "You know, you may be right. I'm sorry if I'm making you nervous."

"You don't need to apologize." She said, seeing how this guy was trying to be nice. "The truth is, I'm a little nervous because I just got into town, and I don't know where anything is."

"Hey, I can tell you where you can go to get a room." Leon felt that he needed to make up for startling her.

"That would be great! I was just about to leave."

"So was I. By the way, I'm Leon, Leon Kennedy." He held out his left hand.

The girl took it as she introduced herself. "My name's Rebecca Chambers. Nice to met you."

Suddenly it dawned on him. Now he knew were he had seen her. He had found her picture while searching through the S.T.A.R.S. office. "Aren't you a member of S.T.A.R.S.? And aren't you a friend of Chris Redfield?"

"How did you know?" Rebecca was surprised that Leon had known who she was. She was also shocked that he knew about Chris.

"I'm a friend of his sister Claire. I met her in Raccoon. She went there to find him, and I was sent there to be a police officer with the RPD. I found your photo in one of the desks in your office."

"What sister? Chris never told us he had a sister. What I did hear was that we were getting some new recruits." Rebecca thought for a moment, then she remembered. "I heard that one of them was named Kennedy, but I left soon after."

"Well, I guess I'm lucky to run into you like this. Right know we're waiting for Claire and my other friend to get in contact with us."

"Who do you mean we?"

Leon looked over to Sherry, who was waiting for him. "Hey Sherry, come over here."

Sherry quickly ran over and after seeing Rebecca, grabbed on to Leon.

"Rebecca, this is Sherry. She's a little girl I'm looking after. Sherry, this is Rebecca, a friend of Chris."

"Hi" Sherry said, still clinging to Leon.

"Hi Sherry." Rebecca could see Sherry didn't trust her. Rebecca didn't blame her. The way things were, you couldn't trust anyone.

"Let's go." The threesome walk out of McDonalds and into the parking lot. Leon stopped and turned to Rebecca. "So, tell me about yourself and why your here."

"OK." Rebecca then told Leon and Sherry how she had left Raccoon shortly after the mansion incident. She wanted to get away from Umbrella, to put it behind her. Finally her conscience had gotten the better of her. She felt guilty for walking out on her friends. After she heard of what happened to Raccoon City, she knew she had to help take down Umbrella. So she decided to get in touch with Barry. "Barry had told me where he took his family. I was going to head up to Calgary, when I decided to stop here for the night."

"Is Barry a friend of Chris?"

"Yeah. Those two go way back. Hey, you should come with me. If your a friend of Claire, and Claire's Chris' sister, and your a friend of me, then your a friend of Barry too."

"Maybe I will." Leon was relieved. 'Finally things are starting to go our way.'

At that second, as if fate was saying yeah right, a black van with an Umbrella logo on it screeched to a halt in front of the restaurant. "HEY," the driver yelled, "THERE SHE IS, AND SHE'S WITH THAT KENNEDY GUY! GET THEM!" The side door opened and four men dressed in black rushed out.

"SHERRY, HEAD FOR THE JEEP!" Leon yelled. Sherry shook her head and ran for the jeep.

One of the men rushed at Leon. Leon ducked his punch and countered with a shot to the stomach and a right hook to the face. 

Rebecca, meanwhile had dodged a punch herself. "Come here you little bitch,"her attacker sneered. Rebecca's face went red as she responded by kicking him in the groin with her left foot. The man gritted his teeth as he doubled over, grabbing his injured body part and cursing. Rebecca then picked up a near by wastebasket and brought it over the man's back, dropping him to the ground. "Call be a bitch, will ya." Rebecca spat. Suddenly another one of the attackers grabbed her from behind. "GOTCHA!" the guy said. "You think?" Rebecca replied. Just as she had learn in a self-defense course at the RPD, she brought her right foot down on his. He yelled as his grip loosened. Rebecca clasped her hands together and spun around, delivering a might hammer blow to the poor man's face. 

Leon watched as Rebecca's assailant was sent stumbling into a picnic table. "Nice shot." Leon's attention snapped back to his second opponent. The guy lunged with a left jab. Leon stepped to the right and brought his left knee into the man's stomach, driving the air out of him. A left elbow to the back of the head and that fight was over.

"LEON! HELP!" 

Leon looked over to the jeep. The man he had first dropped was now trying to pull Sherry from the jeep.

"SHERRY!"

Leon rushed to the jeep and gave the guy a shot to his ribs. The man spun around, staring Leon in the face. "Leave her alone." Leon growled, his face twisted in anger. The man responded with a right cross. Leon caught his arm, locking it into an arm bar. Leon kneed him in the stomach and drove his head into the window of Rebecca's Beetle, the glass shattering from the impact.

Rebecca watched, eyes wide. "HEY, YOU RUINED MY CAR!" she yelled furiously.

"I'LL PAY FOR IT LATER!" Leon roared as he threw the guy , whose face was bleeding from the deep cut in his forehead, off of him.

"FINE!" Rebecca yelled back, kicking the man who she had hit with the trashcan in the side as he was trying to get up. The man then rolled away. holding where she hit him. Rebecca then sprinted over to her car. She threw open the door and pulled out her Berretta from the glove box. Leon had also reached into his jeep, pulling out his VPK 70 from under the driver's seat.

"Oh shit. GET BACK TO THE VAN!" The driver yelled to his buddies. All four men dashed back to the van and got in. Leon and Rebecca both ran after the van as it peeled out. They ran into the middle of the street and saw the van turn back to them. The driver gunned the engine, as to tell them he was going to run them over. The van then shot towards them.

"I don't think so asshole." Leon said as he and Rebecca raised their guns. They opened fire, pelting the van with bullets. The driver cut the wheel to the left, lifting the van on its right side. Leon saw this and aimed at the front, right tire. He fired, blowing the tire. The van went into a wild tumble. Leon and Rebecca ran as the van flew past them. It slammed into the streetlight, coming to a halt. Soon gas from the ruptured tank began to flow from the van. The driver side door opened as the driver, face cut from broken glass, tried to climb out. Leon walked to the van and stopped in front of the spreading gas. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter he always carried with him. The driver's eyes widened as Leon lit it, and then dropped it on the gas. The fuel ignited as the flames raced to the van. The driver tried to escape, but was too late. Leon turned and walked away, a grim look on his face, as the van exploded, killing the Umbrella agents in it. Leon approached the girls, who were both shocked by Leon's actions.

"I think we should leave." He then turned to Rebecca. "Rebecca, I think you should stay with us. It looks like Umbrella wants you taken out. It'll be safer for you at our place."

Rebecca nodded as walked to her car, looking back at the burning van before getting in. Leon ushered Sherry to the jeep and got in himself. They both pulled out as people began to emerge from the surrounding buildings.

It was 4:30 by the time they got back. Sherry had shown Rebecca to the spare bedroom. Rebecca had settled in, and went looking for Leon. She found him on his computer, looking at his mail.

"Hey Leon, thanks for helping me."

Leon turned to her. "It was nothing Rebecca."

"Please, call me Becky."

"OK, Becky."

"Leon, about what happened earlier. Why did you blow up that van."

Leon turned back to the computer screen, his face blank. "I had to sent Umbrella a message. I had to tell them that we're not playing around anymore. Now we're playing for keeps."

Rebecca looked at the ground. "I guess your right. I guess it's the only way."

Leon closed his eyes. He knew Becky wasn't used to this. This war they were in would hurt her the most. He only hoped that she wouldn't be forced to kill anyone during their struggle. He was going to say something when he heard a tone.

DO DO DO DEE DO DEE

Leon opened his eyes. A 'You have new mail' box had appeared. He opened it. It was from Ark. It said.

Leon. I finally got Umbrella off of my back. Call me and we'll arrange a meeting place. my number is 555-2856. I look forward to seeing you. Ark.

"Who's Ark?" Rebecca asked.

"That friend I told you about. Looks like we'll be getting some help."

"Can you trust this guy?"

Leon saw her concern. "Sure I can. We were in police school together. If I can trust anyone, it's him."

"Whatever you say." Rebecca was less than optimistic. She thought she could trust someone too. In the end, he had betrayed her and her friends. Thank God he was dead.

"Listen, tomorrow I'll call Ark tonight and see if he can meet us later on. I want you to go to Barry's house and see if he's there. If he isn't, find out where he is."

"Alright Leon, I'll do that." Rebecca turned to leave.

Leon looked at the computer, then back at Becky. "Hey Becky."

"Yeah?" Rebecca turned to Leon.

"You did great today."

Rebecca smiled at Leon. "Thanks." She then turned and left the room, the smile still on her face.

Author's Comments: Talk about intense. If there's one thing to say, it's that these guys know how to have a good time. Also, a few things to mention. Unlike the other chapters in this part, this is the only time two characters will run into each other by coincidence. Also, I put Raccoon city in Northeastern Pa. because of evidence I found on a Resident Evil website. In case you're wondering, Hazelton is a real city. It's also the city I'm attending college in. McDonalds is also one of my favorite fast food places to eat at. I also took the liberty of showing what I think happen to Leon based on his Epilogue from RE3, and tying it into how I think Leon ran into Ark. Be sure to look for this deal to show itself in another part. That's it for that.

Next, we'll see what Barry has been doing. We all know by now that Barry has found a new hideout for the team, but where is it? In the next chapter you get a personal tour of the S.T.A.R.S. future new home. All this and more in RE Armageddon: Part I, Chapter 4- Setting Up Shop.


	4. Setting Up Shop

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me.

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 4- Setting Up Shop

Written by: Striker

Barrypulled off the main road and onto a dirt road. It was more like a driveway than a road. 'Maybe I'll put a sign up so people won't drive up to this place and cause a panic.' He thought about it a little more then shook his head. Putting up a sign would be like putting up an invitation. This was to be a secret hideout. If people thought that the driveway was just another dirt road leading off into the woods, the better. Unless it was for curiosity, no one would think of going down it. That's what he liked about the place. It was remote. Only a few people knew of its location, and most of them were dead. Barry knew that if the team needed a safe place to plan their offensive against Umbrella, no place was safer than this.

Barry pulled his van up to the building. It was a huge, two-storied cabin that had been in ruins when he found it. Barry thought back to when he and Robert Kendo had first bought the place. They spent a whole year remodeling it. They had help from a group of their friends who chipped in. They had made it into a little hunting lodge. For the past seven years they had come here for buck season or to get away from the stress of everyday life. Now, this building would soon be the new headquarters for the S.T.A.R.S. Barry parked in the little lot on the side of the building. He shut off the engine and got out. He walked over to a large power box set onto the wall. Barry stroked his beard as he studied the box. He was dressed in his hunting gear, complete with hunting cap. He wanted to create the illusion that he was a hunter so he wouldn't draw suspicion when he when to Atlanta request that the city turn on the cabin's power. The building was only forty miles from Atlanta, which would make it easier not only to get supplies, but give the team a place to rendezvous before going to the base. The only question Barry had now was whether the power was on.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Barry grabbed the large knife switch and pulled it down. He looked at the light indicator next to the switch. The red light shut off and the green light below it came on.

"Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, we got power." Barry strolled around to the other side of the cabin. He walked out to a little clearing to a large object covered by a huge camouflage covering. He lifted up the one corner on the cover and smiled. "Still here," he said with a smile. He walked over to a large ladder propped up on the side of the building. He set it up and began to remove the cover. It took him a half hour to remove it. It took him three times as long to put it on in the first place. As he stepped off the ladder and let go of the cover, he looked at the object. It was a helicopter. In fact, it was the same helicopter he had rescued Jill and Carlos in. He had dropped it off here before he took a plane back to Calgary to check on his family. He knew the team would need it in their coming battle. 

Barry's mind flashed back to his family. It had been hard to leave them the first time. He could still hear his youngest girl Jenna begging him not to go. He could also still hear his wife Kathy telling her and Natalie that he would be fine. The second time was harder. He had to tell them he was going away and didn't know when he would see them again. Kathy and the girls had taken it better that time. He guessed that Kathy had explained the situation to the girls, and they understood. He even smiled when Natalie had said that she was proud that he was going to be a hero. It was hard to leave, but they all knew he had to if they were going to be safe.

"Kathy, I WILL make sure Umbrella NEVER hurts you or the girls. I swear it." Barry closed his eyes, his heart aching. He wouldn't know what to do if he lost any of them. He and Kathy had been college sweethearts. They met at Stroudsburg University, where she went for a degree in the arts and where he went on a football scholarship. They got married soon after graduation. They had moved to Pittsburgh, where Barry had joined the S.W.A.T. team and quickly rose to team leader. It was there that he learned to fly helicopters. Kathy had got a degree in literature and began to write children's books. He had also gotten a job as a part time member of S.T.A.R.S. when he was 23. In August of 1989, Kathy found out she was pregnant. They had then made the decision that Barry quit the S.W.A.T. team and they move to Raccoon so he could become a permanent member of S.T.A.R.S. They had moved in February of 1990, and Natalie had been born in May. Three years later, they were blessed with the birth of their second daughter, Jenna. Barry had enjoyed being a father. He would take both girls to the park almost every day. He fondly remembered how Kathy and the girls would stay up and wait for him when he went on a mission. He was surprised at how fast his daughters had grown up. Natalie was now 8 and Jenna was 5. God knows he would do anything to keep them safe. He had to once, or so he thought. It was at the Spencer place when Wesker had threatened them.

Wesker, the very mention of that name made Barry's blood boil. The snake had made Barry think that if he didn't help him, Kathy and the girls would be killed. He only found out later that Wesker's threat was empty, that he had betrayed his friends for nothing. He was glad when Chris told him that Wesker was killed, but had somehow felt sad that he wasn't the one that had finished the bitch off.

"Wesker, your lucky it was the tyrant that killed you. If it was me, I'd make you suffer you son of a bitch."

Barry headed back to the cabin. He knew that he had to repay his friends for his betrayal. That's why he went back for Jill, and that's why he had come back here. He had to get this place ready for his friends' arrival. He stepped onto the porch he and Rob had added on and unlocked the front door. He then stepped inside.

The place was nice. It opened into a hall with a staircase leading to the second floor. To Barry's left was a kitchen, fully loaded with every appliance the team would need. It also had a large, oak table that could seat up to eight people. Beyond the kitchen, there was the laundry room. To his right was the living room with a couch in the middle of the room, a loveseat and chair set against the left wall, a small table with a lamp at each end. On the right wall was a large window. There was a recliner in front of it and a small chair and table to the left of the window. A coffee table was set in front of the couch and a large TV was set against the back wall. A VCR was set on top, the LCD display flashing. Above that was a large painting of a deer leaping over a fallen tree. A door to the right of the TV lead to a bathroom.

The hall stretched back and ended with a door Barry had replaced a few years ago. To the left was the dinning room. It had a long table built to seat at least fifteen people. It also had a hutch Barry had brought from home set against the wall. It had several pieces of China Barry's parents had given him on his wedding day. To the right was the den. The walls in this room where covered with hunting stuff. A few rifles were set on the wall, along with several deer heads. Barry had considered taking the heads down, but decided not to. Another door in the den lead to the furnace room. That room also contained the hot water tank.

The second floor was also nice. The stairs led to a balcony overlooking the hall. It then went off in two directions. There were seven bedrooms, some with more than one bed. There was another bathroom on the floor so no one had to go down to the living room. The hall had a heavy, red carpet and the rooms had different colored carpets too. The floor down stairs was mainly hardwood. The only exception was the living room, which had the same type carpet as the upstairs hall had.

Barry smiled to himself. He knew the place was big enough for the group. Even if there were more people than beds, people could sleep on the couch in the living room and the two couches that were in the den. Hell, he remembered when people had to sleep in the chairs and on the floor. Barry decided to check the furnace and hot water tank. But first, he had to set the VCR clock. The blinking display was driving him mad. He walked into the living room and pulled open the curtains, letting light flood in. He went to the VCR and squatted down. He looked at his left wrist, checking his watch. It was a Rolex. Kathy had given it to him before he left. He promised he would think of her whenever he looked at it. He could almost see her smiling face in the glass cover. He shook the image from his mind and looked at the time. 3:30! It didn't feel this late, but he could tell as he looked out the window. It wasn't as bright out as before. Barry turned his attention back to the VCR. He quickly set the clock and got up. He figured he might as well call Jill and Carlos to tell them the good news. Hey, they might have found Chris by now. 

Barry walked outside and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. It was likely that the phones in the cabin were shut off. He would have to call the phone company tomorrow, as well as the cable company, to get the phones and TV going. He quickly dialed the number of the cell phone he had given Jill. The phone rang three times.

"Hello?" A slightly agitated voice answered.

"Hey Jill. How are you?" Barry said. 

"Hey Barry. I'm fine. I guess this means you found a new hideout." He could hear her voice change as she recognized his voice.

"I sure did, and it's a beauty. Is Carlos there with you?"

"Yes he is. You just caught us in the middle of dinner."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. It's 3:30 here, so there it's..."

"9:30"

"Sorry." Barry remembered that she was in Europe. It was later over there. "Tell me, where are you? Did you two find Chris yet? I'm getting worried."

He was worried. He and Chris were old friends. He had found Chris while he was still a drifter. The two hit it off and soon after, he convinced Chris to become a member of S.T.A.R.S. After Chris had left for Europe, he had taken Kathy, Natalie, and Jenna to Canada so they couldn't be used against him by Umbrella. He planned to link up with Chris, but got sidetracked by personal matters. He had wanted to go with them to search for Chris, but he had the important job of finding someplace where they could meet up. That's what he told Jill. In reality, he wanted to spend time with his family before he went to battle Umbrella. For that reason he had given Jill a cell phone and his number so she could let him know when she found Chris. 

"Well, right now we're in Paris. Chris was here , but he left a few weeks before we got here. We think he went to save the person who got caught breaking into Umbrella's main HQ."

"WHAT! What kind of idiot would try to sneak into Umbrella's headquarters?" Barry knew whoever it was had to have a death wish. Even a small army had no chance in there.

"I don't know, but she had to have a good reason. We also think that she was a friend of Chris."

'A friend of Chris?' he said to himself. "Then why would Chris send in someone alone?" That seemed stupid, and Chris wasn't the one to make stupid moves.

"Maybe he thought that one person could moved around undetected better than a whole group."

"Yeah, well, if he did go on a rescue mission, he should be back in town by now."

"Chances are he won't. Umbrella had him under surveillance. That's how we knew he was in this city."

"CHRIST! Now it'll take a miracle to find him. He could be anywhere. Hell, at this rate, it'll take a miracle for us to bring Umbrella down." Barry shook his head. 'Damn, things are getting better and better, aren't they.'

"God, we shouldn't have split up." Barry could tell Jill was having regrets about this. He had them too. But what was done was done. They couldn't change it, even if they tried.

"It's too late for that now." Barry tried to think of how he could get Jill's hopes up. Then he remembered. He had a computer in the van. Now that he was here, he could help her search."Don't worry, since I found our hideout, I'll start looking for Chris too. I'll check to see if Umbrella had any of their labs or facilities attacked within the last four weeks. If they did..."

"It's a sure bet Chris may be involved." Jill finished for him, "Carlos had the same idea."

Carlos. He didn't fully trust the guy. The fact that he had worked for Umbrella was strike one. The fact he was a mercenary, strike two. On the other hand, he did help Jill out in Raccoon. He was screwed by his commander, the same way Wesker screwed the S.T.A.R.S. team, and they did seam like close friends. Barry was just worried about how Chris would react to anyone from Umbrella being on the team. At this point though, they needed all the help they could.

"OK Jill. I'll let you go. Call me if you find anything. I'll call if I find something on my end."

"I will. Bye Barry."

Barry heard Jill hang up. He put the phone back in his pocket and headed for the van. He opened the back door and proceeded to take everything he had packed out. As he carried the stuff into the house, a dozen questions swirled through his head. Who was that nutcase that tried to break into Umbrella's HQ? Was he or she a friend of Chris? Did Chris go to save that person? If he already did, were was he? Would Jill and Carlos find him? Would Chris try to contact him? How would Chris respond to Carlos? Barry tried to work out the answers as he continued to bring in box after box. He had just about everything the team would need. He knew there was more stuff to get, but he would worry about that bridge when he came to it. 

It was 4:30 by the time Barry had finished. He had set up the computer on the desk in the den. He was about to turn in on when he realized something important. The phone line was still shut off, he couldn't get online until it was activated. He cursed at himself for being so stupid. He quickly walked back outside and dialed the phone company like he had done for so many years. The woman on the other end was cheerful and took down the information Barry had given her. She told him the phones would be on in ten minutes. Barry thanked her and hung up. He walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. 

'Don't worry Jill. We'll find him soon.' Barry knew the real reason Jill was so desperate to find Chris. It was the same reason Chris had been so depressed about leaving Raccoon. He cared for her, and vice versa. They wouldn't admit it to each other, or anyone else. Barry knew though. He knew the minute Jill had first seen Chris. Her jaw had almost hit the floor. He knew from then on they belonged together. He had seen them get close, very close. He wasn't surprised at what happened at that picnic. He wouldn't tell anyone, but he had taken the second picture on purpose. He then acted surprised by it. It was all a plan to get Chris and Jill to tell each other they were in love with each other. His plan had crashed when Jill insisted that she keep the second photo and made him promise not to tell another soul. He had another chance when Chris came up to him a day later. Chris had asked him how to tell if a girl liked a guy. Barry had told Chris all he knew, secretly using Jill as an example. That had come to a grinding halt when Chris had asked Barry to keep the conversation between them. Barry wasn't surprised when he went to Chris' apartment and found that Chris had taken the picture of him and Jill with him.

"Maybe when we get back together, those two will just confess how they feel for each other. Either that, or I'll have to tie them up until they do."

He smiled as he thought about how those two kids used to stare at each other. He also had found it amusing how they would try to make excuses when someone noticed. They tried to fool everyone, but they couldn't fool him. He knew because they were doing the same thing he and Kathy had done before they had started to date. In a way, Chris and Jill reminded him of how he was when he was a young man. He knew from experience that it was just a matter of time before those two became more than "just friends."

"I just hope they get the chance."

Barryglanced at his watch. Ten minutes were up. He quickly got up and took the kitchen phone off the hook. As soon as he heard the dial tone, he hung up and rushed to the den. He turned on the computer and waited for it to boot up. It was internet ready so it didn't take long for him to start browsing the web. 

"I'm going to find you buddy," Barry muttered, "I'll find you if it's the last thing I do."

Author's Comments: Barry, Barry, Barry. You sneaky little monkey. Well, at least we know that Barry's little scheme was half successful. We do know what Jill's feelings for Chris are. Does Chris feel the same way? You just have to wait and see. I know, I'm just so cruel. A few things to mention. Barry's background I made up using the facts that I had about his life. His wife's name I took from S. D. Perry's novel, and his daughter's names and ages I made up. I also guessed at where in Canada Barry took his family and I also took a pot shot at when Barry quit the S.W.A.T. team and became a full-time member of S.T.A.R.S. Hey, if you think the phone call part looks a little familiar, it should. Turn back to chapter two and you'll see that I took the phone conversation between Jill and Barry and changed it to Barry's end of the line. Cool huh? Just another bit of proof that these first few chapters are happening AT THE SAME TIME. Also, I sort of picked Atlanta because my aunt and uncle live there. Enough of that, lets get down to business.

In the next chapter, we see what has been going on with Ark. We find that Ark and his crew are a lot closer to Leon than he knows. Where is Ark? Why did it take so long to send Leon an E-mail? Find out the answers in RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 5- Seeking Safe Haven.


	5. Seeking Safe Haven

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me.

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 5- Seeking Safe Haven

Written by: Striker

Dear Leon

This is Ark. You were right about the whole Umbrella thing. There was a factory on Sheena Island. They were doing some horrible things. According to Rott and Lily, Umbrella had kidnapped young boys from around the world. I then found out the scientists were extracting the brain fluid from the boys, while they were still alive! This fluid was then used to make Tyrants. I managed to blow up the island and escape. By the way, Rott and Lily were two children I rescued. They lost their parents, just like Sherry. I also found some documents concerning Raccoon City. They may be important. I don't know when I can contact you again, but I'll try to call you soon to see where I can find you. Umbrella has been on our tail ever since we got to Europe. I'll try to get back to the states as soon as I shake those pricks. See you then buddy.

Your Friend

Ark Thompson

Ark reread the message he had sent Leon five weeks ago. He was lucky he could send it at all. He had been on the run with Rott and his sister Lily. Those two kids had been the only survivors, save for himself, which had made it off of that God forsaken island. It was a nightmare for sure. Leon had warned him about what kinds of monsters Umbrella had created. Ark had listened, but had remained skeptical about the whole deal. Zombies, Lickers, huge spiders, and Tyrants. He didn't buy it. All he knew was that some virus had struck Raccoon City, and the city had to be destroyed to prevent the bug from spreading. 

"I guess I should have believed you buddy."

Of coarse he should have believed his friend. The two went back a long time. He remembered when they were in the police academy. Two terrors, that's what they were. They were always getting into trouble. He remembered how one time they snuck into the girl's bathroom and clogged up the sinks. He also remembered the time they had painted the curb the one instructor's car was parked next to yellow. They had waited for the tow truck to come and haul the car away. They really found it funny how the instructor flipped his lid trying to explain the situation. Hey, the guy deserved it. He was a prick. Anyway, he and Leon had earned the title of class clowns. They were also the best. Both he and Leon had finished top of their class. However, they had gone separate paths. Ark had become an investigator for the government. Leon had become a cop for the NYPD for a short time before being transferred to Raccoon City. 

Ark still remembered how shocked he was when he found out Raccoon had been vaporized only a few days after Leon was supposed to arrive. He thought that Leon had perished in the city. He was relieved when he had heard that Leon was alive. The government wanted to know what kind of disease it was that had infected the city, and if Umbrella was involved. The officials had become suspicious of the company due to the fact that it was Umbrella that had insisted on hitting the town with a nuclear missile. They had tracked down Leon and had talked to him. When he had told them the whole story, they were shocked that Umbrella was not only conducting bio-warfare research on U.S. soil, but only a few hundred miles from the nation's capital. One of Ark's friends, a man named Carl, had proposed a deal to Leon. If he would help them investigate Umbrella, Carl promised that the government would put both Leon's parents and Sherry under protective custody. Leon had said no, but Carl had let him know the deal was still opened. It was after that meeting that he had run into Leon. He was amazed by how much his friend had changed. After Leon told him what happened with Raccoon, Ark didn't blame him. Leon also told him that he was waiting for some girl to contact him. Her name was Claire, and she was looking for her brother Chris. Until then, he couldn't do anything. Besides, he had to look after Sherry for Claire. Leon had then asked him to something for him. Ark was to look into a place called Sheena Island for Leon. He had said yes, thinking it was going to be a simple investigation. Yeah right.

That place had been hell on Earth. It was only made worse by the fact that he had lost his memory. It happened after Vincent, the director of the island, found him out. Ark had tried to escape by helicopter, but Vincent had grabbed onto the landing rail. The fool had fired into the copter, hitting the pilot in the back of the head. The copter had crashed and Vincent was knocked unconscious. Ark had sustained a concussion and temporary amnesia. He had come upon Vincent, but didn't recognized him. All he saw was his dog tags, which Vincent had yanked off him earlier, in his hand. After that, he had found a photo of himself and a note calling him Vincent. This had led to a case of mistaken identity, where are thought that he was Vincent, and vice versa. Between shooting zombies, killed genetic nightmares, avoiding some guy named Gary, and dodging men in black suits that dissolved when killed, he had made it to the Umbrella building. It was there that he ran into Lily. He had seen her brother Rott in the sewers, but the boy had run from him, calling him a murderer. Ark had tried to talk to Lily, but Rott came and stopped him. It was also at the Umbrella building that Ark had started to regain his memories. They came like flashbacks, and had confused the hell out of him. After leaving the building, he had come to Rott's house and found Lily inside. She told him the whole story about what happened and how her parents had died. She also told him that Rott had gone to the factory near their house, and had told her to stay behind. Ark had gone to the factory and had saved Rott from becoming a snack for a hungry Hunter. Ark had then apologized for what he thought he had done, still thinking he was Vincent. Rott then explained that he wasn't Vincent, and explained who he really was. Ark then remembered everything. He quickly took Rott and got Lily. Together, they headed for the helipad to escape. However, to get there Ark had to go through not only the commander of the 'Men In Black', but a huge Tyrant. He also had to deal with Vincent. Vincent had been watching him the whole time, and had releases the Tyrant. The mad man had also set the island to blow. Ark had faced Vincent at the helipad. The short fight ended when the Tyrant appeared and killed Vincent. Ark then fought and killed it, or so he thought. Ark and the kids had taken off, only to have the Tyrant grab on to the copter. It had tried to swipe at the children, and Ark knew he had to get it off. He noticed it was hanging onto one of the copter's missiles. Ark fired the missile, sending the Tyrant with it. He then fired the other missile. It hit the Tyrant, blowing it to bits. After that, they had flown off as the island exploded behind them.

That was in November. Ever since then, Umbrella had been on their tail. They had managed to get to Rome and hide out for a while. They then went to Athens. It was there that Ark had sent Leon the E-mail. He had found some disturbing information relating to Raccoon City, something about what happened there. It was in a report from some person called Nicholai. It also mentioned the S.T.A.R.S. team and an operative named Wesker, who was thought to have dead in the Spencer Mansion. He was now, however, concerned by the information he had found a few days ago. He had been in Madrid and had hacked into Umbrella's files. He had learned about some other company that was in competition with Umbrella. Its name was Bio-Tech. The one thing that really scared him was that Wesker had survived the mansion and was now working for Bio-Tech. Ark knew that Leon had to see this. Therefore, he had gotten in touch with Carl, who in turn had smuggled Ark, Rott, and Lily our of Spain and into Boston. That was where Ark and the children were now. He had rented an apartment under an assumed identity the Carl had given him. Carl had wanted him to come back to Washington, be he knew that Leon had to know. This information might even get Leon to accept the deal. Ark now thought about his friend. He hoped that Leon was doing fine. He had more than enough money to live on, Ark had seen to that himself. If was his idea to have $500,000 put into Leon's account. He just hoped that Leon hadn't of gotten caught yet. 

"Hey Ark."

Ark's train of thought had been broken by Rott as he came out of his bedroom. He had on a heavy, wool sweater and some wool sweatpants. "Oh, hi Rott. How are you and your sister doing?"

"We're just cold, that's all." 

Ark knew that neither Rott nor Lily were used to this kind of winter. They had lived on an island in the Mediterranean for most of their lives. Their English accent suggested that they may have lived in the U.K. before they went to Sheena. There all it did was rain.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Maybe if we're lucky, when we link up with Leon, we'll go someplace a lot warmer."

"It's OK. To tell the truth, I kind of like it up here. Where I grew up, we never had snow. It was something I only read about in a book. It's fun to play in, and Lily really likes it."

"She sure does, doesn't she?"

As if on cue. Lily came bounding out of the bedroom. "ARK! ARK! I WANT TO GO PLAY IN THE SHOW!" She had heard Ark and Rott's conversation. In had just snowed the night before, and now it seemed that every kid in the city was outside playing. "COME ON ARK, I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE!"

"Alight Lily, go get ready. Rott, you get ready to. We'll go down to the park. Now hurry up. If you stand around to long, the snow will melt."

"ALL RIGHT!" With that, Lily ran into her room, Rott close behind. Ark sighed. He was surprised how the two had gotten over Sheena Island so quickly. He guessed that kids are just that way. He felt sorry for both of them. They had lost their parents on that island, had their lives ripped from them, forced to keep running from Umbrella's goons. At least here they could relax. Thanks to Carl, Umbrella had no idea they had made it back to the states. Those fools were still probably searching Europe. Over their time together, Ark had got close to the kids. They sort of looked up to him as a father figure. He had got to know how old they were. Rott was 13 and Lily was 8. Rott had gotten into computers, a hobby Ark knew all too well. He was a computer person himself. He had learn how to use any computer system there was. He had also learned how to hack into other computers. Rott was quick to pick this up, so Ark decided to teach him all the tricks he knew. Lily was into horses. Ark had bought her a couple of horse dolls and books. Lily's dream was to one day become a horse trainer. Ark had promised her after Umbrella was gone that he would make sure that she learned how to ride a horse. Now the trick was to beat Umbrella, which at this point in the game, seemed unlikely to happen soon.

"HEY! Are you two ready yet?" He called. Then it dawned on him. 'Hey, I better go get ready too.' He dashed to his room to get something warmer to wear.

He quickly threw on a black and red sweater and put on a pair of snow boots. He came out to find Rott and his sister by the door. Rott had on black jeans, black boots, and a heavy orange coat. Lily was in her red snowsuit and green boots she had got when they had first arrived here. 

"Are you guys ready to go?"

"YEAH, YEAH! LET'S GO ALREADY!" Lily said, jumping impatiently. 

"Just put your gloves and hats on and then we'll go." Ark told her.

The children put on their dark blue gloves and matching hats. The three of them then left for the park.

It was around 4:30 when they finally returned. They had spent five hours at one of the large parks in Boston. Ark was pleased to see the two having so much fun. It hurt to know that as soon as he, Leon, and their allies started to attack Umbrella, days like this would be over. He just hoped that they would be safe during the war. The kids quickly took their wet clothes off and ran to their room to change for lunch, or in this case, dinner. Ark went back to his computer. It was still on, but the screen saver had come on. He moved the mouse, causing the screen saver to turn off. His eyes quickly darted back to the message he was looking at all afternoon. 

'Should I send Leon another message. Umbrella doesn't know were I am, so they can't be tapping my phone line. It's been long enough. I have to.' Ark wrestled with this problem. On one hand, he should let Leon know where he was. He should see if they could reunite somewhere soon. Hell, he should let his friend know he was still among the living. On the other hand, He didn't know where Leon was. He didn't know if Leon had left the U.S. He didn't know if Leon had been caught. He didn't even know if Leon was still alive or dead.

Rott came out from his room and saw Ark staring at the computer. He had seen Ark on his computer a lot of times, mostly looking at that letter. Rott finally decided to ask about it.

"Whose Leon?"

Ark was startled by Rott. "OH! He's just a friend of mine."

" Are you best friends? Do you miss him?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"It's just that you stare at that letter almost every day. It's like you feel sad for not sending him another. I would know. I had a good friend on Sheena. His name was Gary. He was the sewer manager. I used to go to his office and listen to his stories. I just hope he got off the island before it blew."

Ark sighed. He missed Leon probably just as much as Rott missed Gary. "Yeah, we are best friends. We went through Police Academy together. I miss him too. I was just thinking of sending him another E-mail."

"Then why don't you?"

"A lot of reasons. I don't know where he is, what he's doing, of if he's still alive. One main reason is that once I do send him a message, he'll want to meet. Once we do meet up, we'll start to fight Umbrella. I guess I just want more time."

Rott could see what Ark meant. Ark didn't want to drag him and his sister into this so soon. "Well, if you don't get together with your friend, and you don't stop Umbrella, this will never end. We'll always be running for the rest of our lives."

Ark knew that Rott was right. "I just wish you and your sister weren't involved. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know. I don't want to see you get hurt either. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about telling Vincent about you."

Ark knew that the young boy had felt guilty about blowing his cover. He didn't blame him. He knew that Rott had been scared of Vincent. He should of feared Vincent. Chances were that if Vincent had found out that Rott had known about him, but didn't say anything, the bastard would have killed both Rott and his sister. "I don't blame you, Rott. You did what you thought you had to so you and your sister wouldn't get hurt."

"Rott nodded, then he asked something that surprised Ark. "What's Leon like? Will he like me and my sister?"

Ark laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure he would like you two. He's a nice guy. He's got a great sense of humor. He also has a good set of morals. That's why he became a cop. He told me the one thing he wanted to do was protect and serve. That's also why he's fighting against Umbrella. That company has cause nothing but suffering. He'd die if it meant it's destruction."

"Does he have any friends?" Rott asked.

"Yeah. Let's see. First there's Sherry. I only met her once. She seemed like a nice girl. You'd get along great with her. So would your sister. She's 12, I think. She went through the same thing you did. Then there's Claire. I just heard of her. Leon seems to like her. He said that she's great with kids, so she would really get along with you two. Ah, let me think. Oh yeah, Leon said that Claire had a brother who's been fighting against Umbrella too. I believe his name is Chris. Also, I think that Leon said Chris belonged to a group called Stars or something like that. They're against Umbrella too. That and our government. The fact that Umbrella was making biological weapons here in the U.S. didn't exactly set well with Uncle Sam."

Rott looked confused. "Whose Uncle Sam?"

"Ah, that's another name for our government. Don't ask me who came up with it. All I know is that it was used as part of a slogan during either WWI or WWII to get people to join the military. It's a patriotic thing."

"OK." Rott looked at the floor, thinking about what Ark had said. He looked up Ark. "Do you think that Leon knows where these people are?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

Ark shook his head. "Maybe he does, Maybe he doesn't. I really wouldn't know unless I asked him."

"Maybe you should ask him. He seems like a good person. Maybe he's waiting for you to send him a message right now."

"I guess I should. I'll tell him to call us tomorrow. Now, let's see." Ark began to type. "I'll give him my cell phone number. That way, if we're out, we won't miss if he calls."

Ark finished the message. It read:

Leon. I finally got Umbrella off of my back. Call me and we'll arrange a meeting place. My number is 555-2856. I look forward to seeing you. Ark.

He typed in Leon's E-mail address and looked at Rott. 

"As soon as I sent this, I guess there's no going back."

"At least we won't be sitting around on our butts anymore."

Ark smiled and turned to the computer. 'No we won't.' he thought as he hit the send button.

Author's Comments: And with the push of a button, it begins. Wasn't that nice. It took Rott's probing to finally get things started. Well, all big things have small beginnings. Also, you just know what Ark has found out is going to piss a lot of people off. The question still is, did Wesker die at the Antarctic base? You'll just have to wait and see. (I'm so cruel.) Anyhow, anyway, any who, I changed Rott and Lily's ages, I think. Pay particular attention to Rott's age. That plays a small role later on in the saga. I also embellished on Leon and Ark's days at the academy. I also changed Leon's background a little bit. I don't think that would have a major impact on the story. By the way, did you notice something familiar? Those of you who read chapter 3 (You did read chapter three, right?) you'll see that they are the same for both parts. If that's not proof enough that the first six chapters are happening at the same time, I don't know what is. 

Now that we know what all the survivors are doing, and where they are, the reunion will start. Right? WRONG! We still have two other survivors to deal with. In the next chapter we find out what two villains have returned and what their orders are. We also find out that Umbrella is under new management. Whose the new guy pulling the strings, and what does he have planned for our heroes. See in the next installment of RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 6- New Orders. HA! HA! HA! OK, enough.


	6. New Orders

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me. (Is it just me, or is this getting boring.)

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 6- New Orders

Written by: Striker

"DAMMIT!"

A young man sat in a big, black chair at his desk, studying reports he had received. He was furious at the incompetence of his employees. First there was the screw-up at the Spencer Mansion. After that, the simple mission to get the G-virus from Birkin that had been fowled up. That had led to the outbreak at Raccoon City. Umbrella had been forced to get the U.S. military to destroy Raccoon to cover up their mistakes. Now, because of that, the U.S. Government was breathing down their necks. Then there was the S.T.A.R.S.

"S.T.A.R.S. How I loath that name," he said with a glare, his blue eyes cold as ice.

He knew that they were out there. He also knew that there were other survivors who were working with the S.T.A.R.S. too. Because of them, Umbrella had lost not only three plants in Raccoon, but three other facilities around the world. It was these facilities he had just found out about. He flipped through them, looking at the names. Sheena Island, Rockfort Prison, Antarctic Base. He threw the documents on his desk, his eyes darting over to another piece of paper. It contained a list of the survivors, and where they were. He needed to refresh his memory for the meeting he was about to have.

"Let's see. Who do we have here?" He said in an inquisitive tone, as he began to read.

Chris Redfield- 25. He was one of the S.T.A.R.S. members that had destroyed the Spencer Estate. He was also responsible for the destruction of the Antarctic base, where he went to rescue his sister. He was currently in London, England

Jill Valentine- 23. She was a fellow S.T.A.R.S. member and also helped to destroy the Spencer Estate. She was also in Raccoon City when the virus hit. She not only escaped the city, but she managed to kill the Nemesis that was sent to kill her. She was somewhere in Europe, supposedly looking for her partner, Chris Redfield.

Claire Redfield- 20. She was Chris' sister and another survivor. She came to Raccoon City looking for him, but was caught up in the outbreak. She escaped, broke into Umbrella's HQ, was captured, taken to Rockfort Prison, escaped, got taken to the Antarctic Base, and was rescued by her brother. She was in London with her brother.

Leon Kennedy- 23. He was a new recruit to the Raccoon Police Department. He had arrived at Raccoon the same time Claire had. He had escaped with Claire, but not before they both blew up the lab. He also ran into Ada Wong. It wasn't clear, but something had happened between them. He was last sighted in Richmond, Va., but disappeared shortly after.

Sherry Birkin- 12. The daughter of William and Annette Birkin. She escaped with Claire and Leon. She was wanted because she had been infected with the G-virus. It was believed that she was currently with Leon, though it wasn't certain if she was.

Barry Burton- 38. Another member of S.T.A.R.S. and survivor of the Spencer Estate. He had taken his family out of Raccoon. It wasn't known why, but it may of had something to do with what happened in the mansion. He then came back to rescue Jill. While his family's location was not known, it was believed that Barry had a secret base around Atlanta, Ga.

Rebecca Chambers- 18. The last of the survivors from the Spencer Estate still alive, the other being Brad Vickers who was killed in Raccoon during the outbreak. She was also the youngest member of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team, and the only one from that team to survive. She had left Raccoon and had been under surveillance ever since. Last location was Trenton, N.J. A few days ago, though, she had begun to move north, apparently to find someone. She was currently being followed.

Carlos Olivera- 21. He was a former member of the U.B.C.S. He turned traitor and had helped Jill escape the city. He also saved her life. He had gotten her the T-virus vaccine from Raccoon City Hospital when she was infected by the Nemesis. He was currently in Europe with Jill.

Ark Thompson- 24. A government investigator who was a friend of Leon. He had gone to Sheena Island at Leon's request. He had escaped with two children, Rott and Lily Clien. They were last spotted in Madrid, Spain, but had somehow vanished. Their location was now unknown.

"I swear, this company is full of imbeciles. They can't seem to do ANYTHING right." He was enraged that out of the eleven survivors on the list, only three were found. What really stole the show was how the one survivor, Claire Redfield, had managed to even get into Umbrella's HQ. It was mind-boggling how she could have done it. If HE was in charge then, HE would have had her executed on the spot. In fact, if HE was in charge then, she wouldn't have even gotten in here. If only he was calling the shots, none of this would have happened. Mr. Umbrella was a fool. He didn't have the balls for the job. The old bastard cared more about making money than taking care of anything else. He was confident, too damn confident, that the S.T.A.R.S. or the other survivors wouldn't cause them anytrouble. They had cause plenty. Six facilities lost, that was intolerable. He had been so sad when both Alfred and his sister Alexia parishes at the Antarctic Base. Good riddens. That whole family had been insane. Besides, everyone knew those two were probably fucking each other. To think Alfred was next to take control of the company. God help Umbrella if that happened. It was too bad the loon was dead. It was even worse that Mr. Umbrella had been in that horrible "accident" and had died just a few days ago.

"Yes, it was just so tragic that that old fool drove his car off that cliff," he said, an evil grin slowly spreading across his face. It had been no accident. He had planned it. A steep road, slick with rain, and a cut brake line. It had all been set up so that Mr. Umbrella would be killed. With the Ashfords wiped out, only one other person was left to take charge.

"ME, Charles Spencer, the rightful owner of Umbrella."

He had finally done it. He had finally returned Umbrella to its rightful family. It had been the Spencers that had first funded the research on the Mother virus. It was in the Spencer Mansion that the T-virus was born. It was the Spencers that had founded Umbrella. It was the Ashfords that had took Umbrella from his grandfather, Lord Edward Spencer. Ever since, those fools had ruined the company, putting weak people in charge. And why, because they claimed that THEY were the founders. That was bullshit. It also over. Now Umbrella would be a power to contend with. It would finally see its true glory. But first things first, he had to get rid of those who would try to stop him. Hopefully, these two people he would soon see would not fail him.

"You had it easy up to now. Now it's my show, and soon you'll all be DEAD."

Nicholai Ginovaef cursed to himself as he headed to the chairman's office in the Umbrella HQ. He had been in Spain looking for a Mr. Ark Thompson, when he was called back to Paris. It was at the request of the new owner, Charles Spencer. Nicholai didn't like the guy. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to Mr. Umbrella's death than what was revealed. He knew that Spencer had probably orchestrated the whole thing. Sure he didn't tell anyone. Lord knows that Spencer had a few screws loose. It was only that Nicholai valued his life that he kept his thoughts to himself. He swallowed as he approached the heavy, maple doors. He straightened as he entered.

"You wished to see me, Mr. Spencer?" The words had a bad taste as they left his mouth.

"Yes. Yes I did. It's about the S.T.A.R.S. and the other survivors. It's time we quit playing games. This has gone on for too long. Where my predecessor failed, I shall succeed. For that I need your help. So far you seem like one of the few people in this company I can trust to accomplish the mission at hand without screwing up."

Nicholai knew what Spencer wanted before he even said it. "You want me to hunt down the S.T.A.R.S. and their allies?"

Spencer was pleased. Nicholai was indeed intelligent. "Why yes. That is what I want you to do."

"There are eleven targets, am I right?"

"Almost. By tonight there should only be eight left. I have sent agents to finish off the Redfields. Also, it's only a matter of time before Miss Chambers stops to rest. When she does, it will be the last thing she does." He smiled wickedly as he said this. 

Nicholai felt uneasy looking at Spencer's expression. 'This man is a maniac. He is enjoying this too much.' To Nicholai, this was work. He never did anything for enjoyment. He did what he had to did. The only exception was when he found Jill and Carlos. He would thoroughly enjoy killing that bitch and that traitorous prick. 

"Is there something troubling you, Nicholai?" 

Spencer's voice snapped him back to reality. "No Sir. Just wondering about my mission."

"I'll tell you went the other man gets here."

"Other man, Sir?"

"Yes, Nicholai. You'll have a partner this time. Do try to get along."

"What partner?" Nicholai hated to work with anyone. He liked to work alone.

"As you know, these people we are after are very dangerous. Mr. Umbrella was blind to that reality. He saw them as pests. I see them as worthy adversaries. I will not underestimate them. The fact they are still alive is proof enough." Spencer got out of his chair and ran his fingers through his thick, brown hair. He then walked around to the front of his desk and began to pace in front of Nicholai, making the Russian nervous. He continued, motioning with his hands as he talked. "With a difficult mission like this one, you will undoubtedly need help. I have chosen as your partner a certain individual with certain talents." He pointed towards Nicholai. "While you have a mind useful for military tactics, this man is the master of psychological warfare. Where you deal with physical attacks, he is skilled in attacking his opponents mentally. In fact, he should be here right about know."

As if on cue, Nicholai heard the door open and someone step in. The door then closed as slowly as it had opened.

"Ah, right on time."

"As always Sir."

Nicholai's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. He turned to the man, his face convoluted with rage. There before him stood a tall man, all in black, with slicked-back, blonde hair and black shades. Only one word came from Nicholai's mouth as he growled.

"Wesker"

"Good to see you too, old friend." Wesker drew out the last two words, his mouth a devilish smile.

Nicholai turned to Spencer, furious. "What the hell is this? Some kind of sick joke? That man," he pointed sharply at Wesker, "Is a traitor. If I had my gun I'd shot him myself." Nicholai was about to explode. This was an outrage.

Spencer's smile faded, replaced by a scowl. "This is no joke. Wesker is back with us now, where he belongs. Besides, he has valuable information about the company he USED to work for. We have incorporated that information into this plan. Speaking of which, it's time to give you what you came here for, your orders."

"What do you want me to do." Nicholai wanted more than anything to get out of the room and away from Wesker.

"Very good. You have initiative, I like that. You will go to Atlanta, Ga. There you will wait."

"ATLANTA! WHAT THE FUCK'S IN ATLANTA!"

"As you know, Miss Valentine and Mr. Oliveira were rescued from Raccoon by Mr. Burton. What you didn't know was that the helicopter Mr. Burton was flying appeared near Atlanta a few days later, but disappeared. He then bought a ticket back to New York City."

"How do you know this?" It was Wesker who spoke. He was interested by this information.

"Simple. As you also know, Atlanta has the CDC, or the Center for Disease Control. It was assumed by Mr. Umbrella that Mr. Kennedywould try to take Miss Birkin, who had been infected with the G-virus, down there. The agents in the city had been checking the passenger records when Burton's name came up. Unfortunately, they were a few days too late and missed him. We, or I, believe that Mr. Burton hid the helicopter at some secret hideout. Just recently, I got a report saying that a Mr. Burton requested that power be restored to some large building located somewhere in the mountains outside of Atlanta."

"Where is it?" Nicholai asked.

"That's what you will find out. You are to go to Atlanta. You are to set up surveillance around the city. Chances are the other members of his little group will be meeting there soon. We will provide you with adequate men to handle the job. We will also monitor the Atlanta International Airport. We will then give you the kind of vehicles they will be driving. Now I may be wrong. Atlanta could just be a rendezvous point. Therefore, you are to stay there for two weeks. If you don't sight them, you are to return here. But, if they do have their little base there, they should have to go into the city for supplies. In that case, watch for them. You are to wait until you have a POSITIVE sighting. Only then will you call in two of our best agents. You should know them. They will help you. DO NOT attack the S.T.A.R.S. base until they arrive. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do." This was getting worse by the minute. He was stuck playing watchdog. He just wondered what Wesker's mission would be.

"Wesker, your job will be just as simple. You will oversee Project X. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir. I do."

"Then that is all. Nicholai, you will leave tomorrow morning. Wesker, you will remain here. Dismissed."

Nicholai turned and left the room. He cursed his luck as he stormed down the hall. He was stopped by the sound of the door opening and closing quickly. 

"Nicholai, hold up."

He turned and saw Wesker coming towards him. "What do you want?" He sneered.

"I just wanted to say good luck."

"Listen Wesker, I don't know how you got Spencer to trust you, but know that I don't."

"You can trust me. Don't you know that the enemies of my enemy are my enemies? Beside, I have a score to settle with most of them, especially that fool Chris. Trust me," Wesker removed his shaded to reveal the reptilian eyes behind them, "You will need my help."

Nicholai was shocked, but his face quickly turned into a smile. "Don't you know you can't trust a snake?" With that, Nicholai turned and headed to the elevator. He had to pack for his trip.

"To shay." Wesker said as he put his shades back on. He looked back and smiled at Spencer's room. 'Soon Spencer, soon.' With that, he laughed and headed for the elevator.

Author's Comments: Spencer isn't evil, now is he? This one is as obvious as getting shot in the ass with a rocket launcher. Well, we know who the villains are. The question is will Nicholai find Barry's hideout, and who are the agents Spencer was referring to. Also, what is up with Wesker? I know this is a shock, but just stay turned and you'll find out what the deal is. Well, just two things. One is that Mr. Umbrella is a real character from Resident Evil. One of the notes you find in the first game is written by him, so there. I decided to use a Spencer because the Ashfords were use in C.V., and they're all dead. I also modified the history of Umbrella a bit to suite the story.

In the next chapter, we find two of the groups come together. This union will begin a chain reaction that with bring the S.T.A.R.S. team together. Who will it be? See for yourself in RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 7- Old Friends Unite.


	7. Old Friends Unite

Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me. (Oh, that's it! I'm not writing this disclaimer like this again. Forget that!)

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 7- Old Friends Unite

Written by: Striker

Leon sat on the couch in the small living room. He was looking at the piece of paper he had in his hand. He had written Ark's number down and been staring at it all morning. He wanted to wait until Rebecca returned from her friend Barry's house. She had left earlier that morning. At his persistent badgering, she had agreed to rent a car. After the events of last night, it was clear that she had been followed. He knew that they couldn't risk leading Umbrella to Barry's front door. They had called a local rental car company to reserve a car. Rebecca had wanted something fast and flashy, but had agreed to something that wouldn't stand out. Leon had chosen a white Ford Escort. Leon had taken her to the place around 7:30 am. They had figured that it would take around ten hours for a round trip, plus time to talk to Barry. Rebecca wouldn't be back until 6:30 pm. It had been four hours so far. He hoped that she hadn't run into any problems.

Leon looked into the kitchen. He could see Sherry sitting at the table eating a bowl of Trix. She had gotten up fifteen minutes ago. Leon guessed that she had been exhausted by what happened at McDonalds. She had also been up late last night talking with Rebecca.She was disappointed that she hadn't of said goodbye before Rebecca left. The two had got along great. Rebecca had told her all about the other S.T.A.R.S. members. Sherry in turn told Rebecca all about Claire. The two were so much alike. Becky was onlysix years older than Sherry was. They had talked about what they liked, didn't like, if they had ever had a crush on a boy and if so, who. It was all girl stuff. Leon used to have the same talks with his friends. The only difference was that guys talked about cars, rock music, computers, and, of coarse, girls. It had been nice to see Sherry happy like that. She had been through a living hell. Now Leon wanted to make sure she never had to go through that again, but he knew he would need Ark's help, along with Claire, Rebecca, and the other S.T.A.R.S. members.

"I bet Ark thinks the same thing about the kids he's looking after."

Those two kids went through the same thing. That's what Ark had said in the first E-mail. They were two more reasons Umbrella had to be stopped. He knew that he had to fight not only to avenge what Umbrella had done to all those innocent people in Raccoon, but to give these three children a future to look forward to.

Sherry came out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Leon, when will Rebecca be back?"

"She should be back around 6:30, maybe 7:00." Leon said.

"Will this Barry guy be with her?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. He might not be there. We won't know until Becky gets back."

"When do you think Claire will sent us something?"

I don't know that either. I wish she would soon, but it's doubtful."

"Are you going to call Ark now?"

Leon looked at the number in his hand. "Yeah, I think I'll call him right now. I was going to wait for Rebecca, but it'll be too late then."

Leon reached for the black phone on the table next to the couch. He quickly dialed the number and waited while it rang.

"WAIT, WAIT. I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Ark bolted from the bathroom, pulling up the zipper on his pants. He had just finished taking a wizz when his phone began to ring. However, it was Rott who pick it up. 

"Hello?"

Leon was confused by the voice. It's English accent made him think he had dialed the wrong number. "Who is this?" He asked.

"Hey, you aren't Leon, are you?" Rott asked.

"Yes I am. How do you know my name?"

"Oh, sorry. My name's Rott. Ark was in the bathroom, so I answered for him."

"Is Ark done yet?"

"Yeah, he's right here. I'll let him talk to you now. Bye." Rott handed the phone to Ark, who at a 'you had to tell him, didn't you?' look on his face. He took the phone and spoke. "Leon, I've been waiting for you to call. What took you so long?"

Leon smiled when he heard his friend's voice. "I should be asking you the same thing. Why did it take so long for you to send me that message? I was beginning to think something happened to you."

"It's a long story. Umbrella's been after us , so I didn't have the time. Besides, I wanted to make sure Umbrella didn't trace anything to you. I finally managed to give them the slip, with some help from my friend Carl."

"Where are you now?" Leon asked. He hoped that Ark wasn't still in Europe. If he was, it would take too much time for Ark to get here. That would be time they could not spare.

"Right now I'm in Boston. Where are you?"

Leon smiled. "No shit. I'm in Buffalo with, oh no." Leon turned to Sherry, an apologetic look on his face. She giggled at him.

"Let me guess, Sherry." Ark replied. "Trust me pal, I'm sure she's heard them all by now. Well, now that we know we're within driving distance, I say we link up."

"That would be great. It'll be good to see you again."

"I guess there's just one question left. Your place or mine?" Ark couldn't keep himself from smiling at his little remark.

"Ha, Ha Ark. Still the practical joker, as always. Listen bud, you'll have to come to my place. It'll be safe since Umbrella doesn't that your in the U.S."

"Let me guess, your waiting for Claire, aren't you?"

"Yes, I still am. I'm also waiting for some other people to arrive."

"When do you think they'll get to your place?"

"Sometime later tonight. You and the children should get here before then. I think it'll only take you a few hours to get here. Is that OK with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I think we need a change of scenery. We'll leave right away. Just tell us how to get there."

"OK." Leon told Ark the address of the house. He told Ark to look for the yellow VW Beetle with the smashed passenger window. When he was done, he said goodbye to Ark and hung up. "Well," he said to Sherry, "looks like we'll be having some more company."

"Hey Leon, I'm going to see if Claire sent anything, OK."

"OK Sherry." He watched as she ran to the computer. He then saw her hopeful face turn sad as she saw nothing. 'Don't worry, she'll send something soon.' Leon thought to himself. 'Then, Umbrella will pay.'

Ark put the phone back in his pocket. 'What a big break. We really lucked out here,' he thought. "ROTT! LILY! COME HERE!" Rott and his sister came out of their room. Ark continued. "I've got some good news. I just found out Leon's in Buffalo. If we hurry, we can be there by five o'clock. He told me he was expecting some other people too. What do you say?"

"I say we get our arses in gear." Rott said.

"Yeah. I want to meet Sherry and Leon. My brother said they're nice." Lily chimed in.

"Well then, let's get packing." Ark said.

They had starting packing at noon. The phone call had taken a good half hour. It had taken them another half hour to load all their stuff into the back of Ark's Ford Explorer. It was tan colored and had been waiting for Ark. It was a little gift from Carl, and it had come in handy. It was 12:30 by the time they finally left. They had been driving for five hours, stopping to eat for a half hour. Rott had acted like a co-pilot for Ark, reading the travel map that was in the glove box. The scenery had changed along the way. Halfway through Connecticut, the snow had ended, much to Lily's disappointment. It was six when the Explorer had entered Buffalo.

"Let's see," Ark said, reading the instructions Leon had given him while Rott held a light."He said it was Maple St." Ark rolled by the streets, reading the names. "Oak. Pine. Chestnut. Here we are, Maple." Ark turned onto Maple. He then saw the house number. Just like Leon said, there was a yellow Beetle sitting in the driveway. And just like Leon said, the passenger window was broken. "I guess this is our stop." Ark pulled up in front of the Beetle and all three got out. They then went to the door and knocked.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Sherry screamed as she ran to the door. 

"Hold on, I have to see who they are." Leon said as he intercepted the young girl. He then went to the door. He rapped out a series of knocks. They were answered back by another set of knocks. Leon smiled as he opened the door. "Ark, what took you so long?"

"I had to feed my passengers before they drove me crazy." He said, smiling back. 

Both men then gave each other a big hug, laughing as they did. Leon let go and clasped Ark's shoulders. "It's been too long, has it. I'm just glad your still in one piece." He then looked at Rott and Lily, who were giving him a strange look. "These must be the two kids you're baby sitting."

"They are, but could we do this inside. It's freezing out here."

Leon let them in and introduced them to Sherry. After that was done, the two men sent the kids to Sherry's room while they got down to business.

"What did you find? It must have been important if Umbrella was so desperate to catch you."

Ark stared at Leon. "You have no idea. There was more to Raccoon an you know. Also, Umbrella may not be the only company we have to stop. The shit's really hit the fan big time. I think you should reconsider that deal Carl gave you. I seriously doubt that we can do this alone."

"First, we wait till Claire, Becky, Barry, and whoever else we can find get together," Leon said, his tone serious, "Then I'll talk to Carl. Hopefully, by tonight, we'll find out just how many people we have."

"You mean the people that are on their way now, right?"

"Exactly. From what I know, there's this group called S.T.A.R.S. Claire's brother is one of them. Two other members will be coming here soon. Chances are that these people have gotten themselves some allies to help them. All we do now is just wait for them."

"That may be a problem." Ark said, his voice grim. "Umbrella is after the S.T.A.R.S. as we speak. I wouldn't get my hopes up, Leon. Umbrella may have killed them by now. For all you know, the two people coming here and us may be the only ones left. If you ask me, four adults and three children are going to do Jack shit against a huge corporation like Umbrella. You may have to make that deal, whether you want to or not."

Leon knew Ark was right, but he couldn't give up hope, not yet. He had to believe that Claire and the others fighting Umbrella were alive, and soon they would be united. He was just about to say something when he heard a car pull up. He then heard a girls voice thanking someone, and then heard the car pull away. 

Rebecca ran into the house. "LEON! I'M HERE!" She stopped when she saw a strange man standing in the den with Leon. "Who's this guy?"

Ark stared at her. "Let me guess, your Claire, aren't you?" He then leaned to Leon. "Damn man, you didn't tell me she was so young, and cute for that matter too."

Rebecca put her hand over her mouth as she chuckled, her face bright red.

"That's not Claire. That's one of the people I told you about. Ark, this is Rebecca Chambers. Becky, this is my close friend Ark Thompson. He just got here."

Ark felt like a fool as he offered his hand. Rebecca took it, shaking it nervously. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just that I heard so much about Claire that I thought you were her."

"That would be kind of hard. Leon hasn't heard from her for a couple of weeks. He's hoping that she'll E-mail him and set up a meeting place. If we're lucky, she might even bring her brother, Chris."

"Speaking of which," Leon said, "Three things. First, where's Barry? Second, how did you get back here so fast? And third, where's the car?"

"Well," Rebecca began, "I'll begin with the car. I took it back to the rental place, and the guy offered to drive me home. Wasn't that nice?"

"What about the time?" Leon asked suspiciously.

"Let's just say there weren't that many cars on the highway."

"YOU WERE SPEEDING?!" Leon yelled. "What if you got caught by the police?"

"Leon, we're trying to save the world as we know it and you're concerned with Rebecca getting a ticket?" Ark asked sarcastically.

Leon glared at Ark. "That, and the fact she could have wrapped herself around a tree."

"Well, if you think me going ten miles over the speed limit is bad, you're going to hate this."

"What?" Both Leon and Ark asked at the same time.

"I got to Barry's house, but he wasn't home. He left two days ago for Atlanta. That's the bad news. The good news is that he has a hideout for us down there. He also has Jill and Carlos looking for Chris in Europe. And if Leon's right, when they find him, they'll find Claire too."

Ark looked at her inquiringly. "Do you mean Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira?"

Becky was surprised. "How do you know their names?"

"I found them in a report at Sheena Island, an Umbrella base. It was written by some guycalled Nicholai." Ark turned to Leon. "It had something about the Spencer Estate and the S.T.A.R.S. team. It also said that the outbreak at Raccoon was used as a testing ground, just like the mansion, but this time, Umbrella used mercenaries. Carlos was one of them. It also mentioned Jill and someone called Brad Vickers, who was killed by something called a Nemesis."

"Oh no. Brad." Rebecca hung her head, hearing that her friend was now dead.

"But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It also talked about some guynamed Wesker."

Rebecca's eyes widened at the sound of that name. "Do you mean Albert Wesker?"

Ark turned to Becky. "Yes I do. How did you know." Ark was interested by her reaction.

"Wesker was the bastard that set us up. I was a S.T.A.R.S. member and so was Barry. I was part ofBravo team. We went into the mansion first because Wesker had rigged our copter to crash. I'm the only member of my team to survive. I would be dead if it wasn't for Chris, Jill, and Barry. That man was evil. He even used Barry's family, threatening to kill them, if Barry didn't work with him. I'm only glad he died in the house when it blew up."

"Well, I think you should sit down. Not only is Wesker alive, he's working for a new company called Bio-Tech. In fact, he attacked a place called Rockfort Prison and some base in Antarctica."

Rebecca went white. She felt like she was going to pass out. "No, he can't be." was the only thing she could say.

Leon had also gone pale. "Oh God. Rockfort Prison is the place Claire was sent to, and I sent Chris there to save her."

"I hate to be the barer of bad news, but that's what I found out. Becky, can you contact Barry?"

"Yes I can. His wife Kathy gave me his number. I can call him right now. Man, he is not going to like this at all."

At this point, the children had come down. Sherry's eyes lit up when she saw Rebecca.

"REBECCA! YOU'RE BACK!" Sherry hugged Rebecca like they had been separated for years. She then noticed Rebecca's sad face. "What's wrong Becky?"

"Nothing Sherry." She forced a smile, despite the pain she was feeling.

"Becky, that's Rott and his sister Lily. They came with Ark." Leon said, trying to change the mood. 'God, I just hope they didn't hear any of this'

Ark knew Leon's plan. "Hey, why don't we get supper. I'm starving."

"Yeah, I'll cook." Rebecca took of into the kitchen. Everyone but Sherry followed. 

"Sherry, aren't you coming?" Leon asked.

"No. I'm going to see if we got something from Claire."

"OK." Leon then went into the kitchen. He didn't even set foot in the room before he heard Sherry's voice.

"LEON! COME QUICK! IT"S A MESSAGE FROM CLAIRE!"

Everyone ran to the den. Sure enough there was a E-mail. From the date and time, it had arrived aroundnoon. It was also signed by two people. It read:

Dear Leon:

This is Chris, Claire's brother. Thanks for telling me she was in danger. We both got out of Rockfort and a base in Antarctica. Both places have been destroyed. Rockfort was bombed by some other company, I set the self-destruct mechanism on the island. I also dropped a nuke on the Antarctic base, so it's gone. Right now we're in London, but we can't stay for long. Umbrella somehow found out we are here. I also found some documents I believe you have to see. I also have some bad news. We need to set up a rendezvous with you. Tell us where you are, and we'll go there. After we meet, we'll have to find the other S.T.A.R.S. members or anyone else that survived. This is important. We HAVE to get together before it's too late. Also, DON'T call, send an E-mail. I don't know if our phone has been bugged or not. We'll see you soon.

Chris and Claire Redfield

"We have to send them a reply now." Sherry said.

"Even if we did, they wouldn't get it now." Ark said. "There's a five hour time difference between us and them. It's seven here, so it's the middle of the night over there."

"Right." Leon quickly came up with a plan. "Rebecca, call Barry now. Tell him we know where Chris is. Tell him we're coming down, so have him tell you where to meet. I'll also need his number. I'll send a replay telling Chris to call him. Ark, you and the children start packing. We leave tomorrow morning at four. If we do that, we may get to Atlanta in one day. If not, we'll spend a night at some motel. This is the break we've been waiting for. It's time we get back together and take Umbrella down."

Everyone got to work. Ark's group started to pack only what the group would need for the trip. Rebecca quickly dialed Barry's number and handed it Leon, who had disconnected from the net. He listened to Rebecca. 

"Hey Barry, it's me Rebecca. I know, it's good to hear you to. Listen, I'm at Leon's house in New York. He's a friend of Claire, Chris's sister. Yes I know, I didn't know either. Anyway, we got a message. We know were he is. We're going to sent him a message telling him to call you. How did I get your number? I went to your wife's house. Yes, they're fine. Hey. We're leaving tomorrow for your place. All I need to know is where you want to meet. OK. I'll write it down." Rebecca motioned for a piece of paper, which Leon gave her, along with a pen. "You can begin now." She began to write the directions Barry gave her. When she was done, she spoke. "We'll see you either tomorrow or the day after. OK. Bye."

As soon as Rebecca hung up, Leon got back online. He then sent this reply.

Chris. By the time you read this, we'll be on our way to Barry's. He has a base in Atlanta. This is his number, 555-6194. Call him and he'll tell you where to meet. Good luck, Leon.

Leon hit "send" and the message was on it's way.

After everything was made ready, the group ate a quick supper and got ready for bed. It was 8:30 when they settled in for the night, a long drive before them. 

Leon had set up the sleeping arrangements. Sherry would sleep with him in his room. He would take the large chair in the corner of his room while she got the bed.Rebecca would have her room. Lily got Sherry's room. Rott got the couch in the living room. And that meant that...

"I get the couch in the den." Ark said to Leon. 

"Well, I didn't say this would be pretty." Leon replied. 

Ark got comfortable on the couch. Leon was just about to hit the lights when he called to Ark. "Hey Ark."

"What?"

"I told you so." Leon smiled as he turned off the lights and headed upstairs to his room.

Authors Comments: Man, oh, man. This just keeps getting better and better. Or worse and worse, depending on whose perspective your looking through. Well, I said that this meeting would start other events in motion. Finally, after all this time, Leon got what he wanted. The only thing is there's a catch. What terrible secret does Chris know. You'll see later. Also, there are only three more chapters left in Chapter 1. That's three more chapters before the reunion of the survivors. Oh, can't you feel the suspense.

In the next chapter of our tale, we find out what Chris and Claire know. Also, Chris is debating whether to tell his sister about the other day. Will he? Won't he? You'll have to find out in RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 8- Plan of Action.


	8. Plan of Action

Disclaimer: As you should know by now, Resident Evil is owned by Capcom. You should also know by now this story is mine.

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 8- Plan of Action

Written by: Striker

Chris stared out of the window in his room. He had a tough time sleeping the night before. There were too many thoughts swimming around inside his head. First were the events of yesterday. He was bothered that Umbrella had found them so soon. He didn't know if Umbrella knew where he and Claire were living, or only that they were in London. Maybe the men in the Sedan just wanted to capture and interrogate him. He wouldn't know that now. Those guys were charred skeletons at some morgue. Second, he didn't know if he should tell Claire. He had kept quiet about the whole thing, but now he thought she should know. The third thing was finding his friends. He knew that would be hard as hell. He didn't know where Barry was, if Jill and Brad were alive, or what happened to Rebecca. The only person he knew he could reach was Leon. He had heard about this guy from Claire. He seamed trustworthy, but Chris wasn't so sure. After the Spencer Mansion, Chris had found it hard to trust anyone. He wasn't even sure Leon was telling him the truth. It wasn't until he checked Umbrella's files on Rockfort that he knew Leon wasn't lying.He had thought about getting a hold of Leon, but didn't have the time. Now, however, he would have to, and soon. The last thing was Claire's current state. He wasn't sure if she was ready to go against Umbrella. He wasn't sure she should be involved at all. If he had only called her and told her the truth like he should of, she wouldn't have been involved to begin with. Chris wrestled with his thoughts for another minute before coming to a decision. He just hoped that it wouldn't blow up in his face.

Chris walked into the living room. Claire was sitting at the table, eating some of the ice cream he had got for her the other day. She had on a brown sweater and a pair of navy blue jeans. She looked up as he sat down at the table.

"Hey Chris, don't you wear anything other than those clothes?" Claire said, noting the fact that Chris had on the same clothes he wore for the past week.

"I'm not a girl. I don't have a million clothes. Besides, I feel comfortable in these."

"That's it. Today we go shopping. I'm gonna get you something decent to wear. The last time I checked, black and white went out of style a long time ago."

"You mean your gonna get something for YOU to wear." Chris knew this all too well. Claire was using him as an excuse to buy herself something. 

"I can't believe you would say that. I never did anything like that before."

"Oh yes you have. Going shopping with you is just as worse as getting teeth pulled. By the time you're done, half the store's practically bought out."

"Well this time it'll be different. I'll only get stuff for you."

Chris covered his mouth and muttered, "Like hell you will."

"What did you say Mr. Chris Redfield?" Claire asked in an angry tone.

Chris dropped his hand. "Nothing. Why don't you go get ready. I'll wait here."

"I'll do that." Claire said, a disgruntled look on her face from what Chris had said.

He watched as she stormed off into her room, slamming it shut. He knew she was just kidding. At least that's what he hoped. Claire had a bad temper, just like he did. Her mood was unpredictable too. One minute she would be so happy, the next minute she would be steaming mad. The funny part was all it took was someone saying the wrong thing to her to do it. Of coarse, she knew when someone was just fooling around with her. She'd play along with them, putting on a show. But if the person meant it for real, look out. She would give them a warning, and if they didn't get the clue, she would get physical. Claire could handle herself well in a fight. He guessed she learned from watching him. Chris thought back to the fights he had been in. He was one of those people who didn't fool around. He would drop his opponent as quickly as he could. He didn't talk trash, he didn't do anything fancy, he didn't bob or weave. He hit the guy where it counted, ending the fight before it even began. Claire would do the same thing. She went right for the kill, not wasting any time. All he could think was thank God she knew he was kidding.

She had been in a great mood today, mainly from last night. Jack had come to their apartment for dinner, just like he said he would. He had brought some flowers for Claire. They were white roses, her favorite. She had been happy to see him. The three had talked all through supper, with Jack commenting on how well Chris had done the steaks. After dinner, Claire had offered Jack some of her ice cream. He had refused politely, saying that he had to get to bed. He had to be up early the next morning. That night, she had slept well for once. Chris had really appreciated the fact that Jack hadn't of said anything about what happened to him on the way back from the store. Suddenly, Chris remembered.

"Awe fuck, the car."

It looked like he would have to tell Claire about the Umbrella agents now. There was no way she would believe any bullshit story he made up about how the BMW had gotten smashed up. He decided he would tell her on the way to the car. Damn, would she be pissed.

Claire came out of her room and grabbed her jacket. "Are you ready to go?"

Chris hesitated for a bit. "Sure, let's get this over with." Chris took his jacket and left with Claire.

They got into the elevator and Chris hit the button for the parking lot. He turned to his sister. "Claire, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Yesterday, while I was coming back here, I got tailed by another car. There was an Umbrella logo on the plate. I managed to get rid of the car, but that's not important. What's important is that Umbrella knows we're here. I didn't want to tell you because of the nightmare you had yesterday morning." Chris closed his eyes and tensed up, waiting for Claire to hit him. He knew Claire did not like anyone trying to protect her.

"Thanks."

Chris was surprised by her response. "What? Your not mad at me?"

"No. You did what you felt you had to. Believe me, the last thing I needed to be thinking about was Umbrella coming to kill us while we were asleep. Did Jack know?"

"He did. He didn't want to worry you either."

"I'll have to thank him."

The elevator stopped and they got out. When they got to the BMW, Claire could not believe her eyes.

"Chris. When you said you got rid of the car, in what sense of the word did you mean?"

"Well, we sort of bumped each other."

"BUMPED! That's not what I call bumped. The whole side of the car's banged up. It looks this it was in a demolition derby."

"Compared to the other guy's car, this is nothing."

"I'd hate to see what happened to the other car. I'll just have to watch the news and find out."

Claire got in her side. Chris got behind the wheel, having to yank open his door. They pulled up to the gate, met by Jack's smiling face. 

"And where would you two be going today?"

"I'm going to buy my brother some new clothes." Claire replied. "Chris doesn't have any sense of fashion at all."

"Your not using that as an excuse to go shopping for yourself, right?"

"I am shocked and appalled that you would think that I would do something like that."

Jack laughed. "I know you wouldn't. So, how do you feel about this Chris?"

"I feel like a condemned man. I have a bad feeling I'll be spending a few hours in a stall trying on whatever Claire can get her hands on. Either that, or it'll be Claire in the stall, and I'll be waiting for her."

Claire smacked him on the arm as he laughed to himself. "OK bro. I intend to prove you both wrong. Well, lets go. You know how the stores are on Friday."

"I won't hold you up any longer." Jack said as he raised the gate.

"Bye." Claire said as Chris pulled out.

Claire had kept her word. She had bought Chris some new T-shirts, only these were different colors. She also bought him some colorful long-sleeve shirts, a couple sweaters, a few pairs of light-blue jeans, and a couple of green, brown, and navy blue shorts. During the whole time, she had only gotten herself a flowered dress and two pairs of polo shorts. It had taken them a few hours to get everything, and a half hour of waiting in line. They had gotten back to the apartment around five. Jack had offered to help carry the bags, but Claire told him he didn't have to. They had just got done sorting through Chris' new clothes when Claire asked him a question that had been bothering her for a while.

"Chris, when are we going to call Leon?"

"I don't know. Soon."

"And how long will soon be?"

"Listen Claire, first I think we should find out where my friends are. Once I know that, then we can find someplace where we ALL can meet at once. It'll be easier that way."

"I think that if we contact him, he can help us. That way, we'll find your friends faster than if we do this ourselves. You told me that Umbrella knows we're here; so that's another reason to call him know. We have to, before we run out of time."

Chris knew she was right about not having time to wait. "I just wish I knew where Jill and the others were."

Claire had an idea. "Chris, remember when Umbrella had you under surveillance in Paris."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, maybe Umbrella has your friends under surveillance too. You could check Umbrella's computer to see where they are."

"Maybe Claire, maybe." Chris ran to the computer and turned it on. He waited until Windows came up before he logged on to the Internet. He went to Umbrella's homepage and went to the employees' page. He easily broke through the password screen. He had learned how to successful hack into any computer in a way that he couldn't be found. Some guy he met in Sweden taught him this. He finally got to where he wanted to go, a search screen. He typed in S.T.A.R.S. and hit enter. Claire stood behind him, waiting for the results. One thing came up. It wasn't what they wanted, but it got their attention.

"What's Project X?" Claire asked.

"I don't know." Chris clicked on it, revealing what looked like an operations report. Chris looked at the table of contents. He clicked on a link that said "ENEMIES." He was shocked not to see four, but eleven names in a list. "I know most of these people, but who the hell are Carlos, Ark, Rott, and Lily?"

"You think I would know. The only people I know on that list are us, Leon, and Sherry."

"I don't like this at all. There has to be some reason for this. It's like Umbrella's made a list of targets. We'd better look into this. Hand me a ZIP disk, could you?"

Claire gave Chris one of the ZIP disks on the desk. He put it into the computer and saved the list to it. He then began to copy the whole document to the disk. It looked like a plan to wipe out not only the S.T.A.R.S. team, but anyone else who had survived Umbrella's little spills. It called for the development of new weapons to use against the survivors. Chris also found out that there were two men heading the operation. Some man called Nicholai was in charge of military operations. Chris could hardly believe who the other man was.

"I can't believe it, he survived."

"I thought you said that he died in the blast?"

"I thought he did." Chris couldn't believe what he saw, but it was true. The man in charge of the development of the new weapons was none other that Albert Wesker.

"Isn't Wesker supposed to be working for someone else?" Claire didn't know what confused her more, the fact Wesker was among the living, or the fact he was back with Umbrella when a few weeks ago he was with some other company.

"It seems he likes to stab everyone in the back. He probably weaseled back into Umbrella because his other employers didn't take failure very well. He must of promised secrets in exchange for his job back."

Chris continued through the order until he came to something else he found strange. It was at the bottom of the table of contents. It said "WORDS FROM THE LEADER." He clicked on it and a message came up. It was from some man whose last name sounded all to familiar. Charles Spencer. It was written by him, Chris assumed. Spencer basically rambled on about how the company would finally see it's true power. Now that Mr. Umbrella was dead, he would fix the mistakes that had been made. The first being the elimination of Umbrella's enemies. The man sounded unstable, like he could loose his marbles at any moment. That is, if he had any marbles to begin with.

"This is bad, very bad. This guy could be trouble. We'd better find out who he is. This could change everything."

"Then I guess we better contact Leon. According to this, the operation's gonna start soon. He's going to need to know, since his name was on the list."

"OK. From what I know, Leon said he was still in the U.S. If I send him something now, he should get it and reply immediately. It's almost five now. It should be about noon there. I'll send it now." Chris opened his E-mail and typed the address in as Claire recalled it. He then typed this.

Dear Leon:

This is Chris, Claire's brother. Thanks for telling she was in danger. We both got out of Rockfort and a base in Antarctica. Both places have been destroyed. Rockfort was bombed by some other company, I set the self-destruct mechanism on the island. I also dropped a nuke on the Antarctic base, so it's gone. Right now we're in London, but we can't stay for long. Umbrella somehow found out we are here. I also found some documents I believe you have to see. I also have some bad news. We need to set up a rendezvous with you. Tell us where you are, and we'll go there. After we meet, we'll have to find the other S.T.A.R.S. members or anyone else that survived. This is important. We HAVE to get together before it's too late. Also, DON'T call, send an E-mail. I don't know if our phone has been bugged or not. We'll see you soon.

Chris and Claire Redfield

"What do you mean our phone's bugged." Claire said as Chris sent the letter.

"If Umbrella knows we're in this apartment, they may have a trace on the phone line. I don't want them to know what we're doing."

Claire understood and nodded. She knew what happened now would mean not only their fate, but the fate of the world.

It was eleven o'clock. Claire was still at the computer, waiting for a response. Chris was on the couch, watching the TV. There had been a report on the news about the chase he had been involved in. He turned and looked at Claire. The way she was looking at the screen waiting for Leon seemed like the same way he used to look at Jill. The way she had insisted on E-mailing him in the first place said that she and Leon were more than just friends. He would have to keep an eye on those two when they met. She had her heart broken once, she didn't need it broken again. Chris vowed he would see to that personally. His mind wandered back to Jill. God, he hoped she was OK. Her name on the list meant that she had survived Raccoon. Now his worry was if Umbrella had gotten to her already. Was she looking for him? Did she give up? Did she forget about him? No, no she wouldn't. She would still be looking for him, he knew that. They were friends and partners, and they would be back together again. And then, he may tell her that he loved her. The only question was if she felt the same way, or if she had fallen for someone else. Chris shook the thoughts from his head. He would worry about that when the time came. 

"Claire, I think we should turn in for the night. We can check my mail tomorrow."

"OK Chris." Claire turned off her brother's computer. Ever since they had sent that E-mail, she had been hoping that Leon would reply right away. She wanted to know how Sherry was doing. She missed that little girl. It had broke Sherry's heart when she left. She had also made a promise that she'd be back, and that was a promise she intended to keep. She also wondered about Leon. How was he doing? They had grown close during their time together. She often wondered what would have happened if she had stayed longer. She knew she felt something for him. It was almost the same thing she had felt for Steve. No, it wasn't. She loved Steve. Now he was dead. She knew she could never love anyone else ever again. That's why she was questioning her feelings for Leon now. She decided not to think about it anymore tonight. She quietly walked to her room and went in.

Chris went to the computer. He removed the ZIP disk and took one last look at it. 'This,' he thought, 'is going to change all our lives, I just know it.' Chris turned out the lights in the apartment and walked to his room, disk in hand. He knew it was time for the battle to begin again.

Author's Comments: Talk about foreshadowing. It looks like the show is about to begin. Everything is almost in place. The countdown has begun. We now know a little of what Project X is. I'll let you guess what kind of "Weapons" Umbrella's going to make. Also, we see the feelings that Chris and Claire have for Jill and Leon. Like the other chapters before it, you get to see the problems that each character has. These problems will play out in future chapters of this saga. You also see the potential clashes that will happen between the characters. This is the one aspect of the Resident Evil mythos that I wanted to concentrate on. The others being the action, mystery, and horror aspects. I decided to give the characters depth, that's why I embellished and or modified their pasts. I also made up pasts for the new characters I introduced in this part. I'll also do this with other new characters of mine to come. For the relationships, I either modified or embellished on past events found in the game history, or made up events to further show the connection between some of the characters. I basically tried to give the characters believable personalities, instead of having them be the cardboard cutout characters from the game. I guess I did enough rambling on for now. I just wanted readers to know why I've spent so much time on character development. 

In chapter nine, all the characters finally reach out and touch each other. Kind of sounds like that old AT&T commercial, huh? Before they meet, they have to first pick a time and place. Also, we find out that Umbrella has plans to stop one group from uniting with the others. Find out who and if Umbrella will succeed. Plus, find out how Spencer's little plan is progressing. The road to war is about to start in RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 9- Contact.


	9. Contact

Disclaimer: OK, one more time. Resident Evil belongs to Capcom. This story belongs to me.

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 9- Contact

Written by: Striker

"CHRIS! GET UP NOW!"

Chris literally jumped out of bed, almost tripping on the covers. He stood panting in a pair of flannel shorts he always slept in. "What the hell was that for?" He asked as Claire stood next to his bed in her nightgown, desperately trying not to laugh at him.

"Sorrybro, but I had to. You know your a heavysleeper. I swear, it could be World War III out there and you'd still sleep through it."

She did have a point. He could sleep through anything. With him, only a loud noise could wake him. He had to get an alarm clock that sounded like an air raid siren just to get up for work when he was with the S.T.A.R.S. He had, however, no problem waking up while he was in the Air Force because they DID wake everyone up with a siren. 

"So, how long did you try to get me up before resorting to blowing out my eardrum?" Chris still had a ringing in his left ear from Claire's high pitched voice.

"Oh, I tried to get you up by tapping on your arm. Then I started smacking you, and then started shoving, finally I just lost my patience and..."

"How long?" Chris said, obviously starting to lose his patience. 

"Five minutes." Claire replied sheepishly.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Now that you have me up, what do you want."

"This." Claire led Chris into the living room and to the laptop. Claire opened the E-mail. "I found this message when I checked the mail this morning." It was a letter from Leon. It said.

Chris. By the time you read this, we'll be on our way to Barry's. He has a base in Atlanta. This is his number, 555-6194. Call him and he'll tell you where to meet. Good luck, Leon.

"So he did get it, just not as soon as we hoped." Chris said as he read it quickly.

"Get this, according to the date he must have read it last night. We received this at 11:30. If we had just waited another half hour, we could have sent him another one right back. We could have sent him an IM too."

"Think Claire, it's a five or six hour difference between us and him. He probably thought we were asleep. Besides, I don't have an IM program on my computer, and I doubt he has one too. At least we know five things, Barry's alive, he has a place we can meet, we know his number so we can reach him, Leon's alive, and he's traveling with either Jill or Rebecca."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"For starters, he said "we" are heading for Barry's. That means he has a group with him."

"Yeah, but he could mean Sherry. She is staying with him."

"So how did they get Barry's number. There's only one person who could possibly know Barry's number, and that's his wife. On top of that, only three other people know where his wife is. Those people are Jill, Rebecca, and me. My best bet is Rebecca."

"Why Rebecca? Why not Jill?" 

"Because, Jill's probably somewhere over here looking for me."

"Aw, isn't that sweet." Claire said in a mocking tone. Chris shot her a look that made her cringe. "SorryChris. I shouldn't have said that." She should have known better. Jill was a sensitive subject with Chris. She kind of had an idea there was something between the two. At least, that's what it sounded like to her when Chris would ever talk about Jill. 

Chris looked back to the computer. "From what this says, Leon and his little party have left wherever they were staying by now. What time is it?"

"It's quarter after ten."

"That would make it quarter after four or five. They have to be either driving to Atlanta or driving to the nearest airport to get an early flight."

"Why would they just leave right away and not wait for us to reply to their message?"

"It may be a long drive. They may have left early this morning or even last night. Anyway, they gave us Barry's number. It's better to call him to see where he wants to meet us. Chances are, he'll want to meet at the airport."

"Are you going to call him now?" Claire asked.

Chris shook his head. "No, it's too early. He might still be sleeping. I really don't feel like waking him up."

Claire was intrigued. "What's he like when you wake him?"

"Let's just say it isn't pretty. It's like poking a bulldog with a sharp stick." 

"So what are we going to do for a couple of hours? I'm going to be bored as hell."

"We can check to see when any flights leave for Atlanta. Try to find one that leaves today or tomorrow. I want to be out of here ASAP."

"Where are you going?" Claire asked as Chris headed to the bedrooms. "I thought you're going to help me look for a plane out of here?"

"I have to pack for the trip. I'll help you as soon as I'm done."

"Fine." Claire began to check the schedules for the surrounding airports, hoping to find one that left soon. "I'm coming Sherry, don't worry."

Barrypaced back and forth in front of the kitchen phone. He hadn't been able to sleep at all last night. He was anxious for Chris to call. He glanced at the clock, nine. "Shit Chris, why the hell couldn't you just give Rebecca your damn number." Barry always cursed when he was upset. It was one of those habits he just couldn't break. "Hell, Chris beat his fucking smoking habit. Why the hell can't I get rid of mine?" Suddenly, the phone rang. Barry was on it before the second ring ever had a chance.

"CHRIS, IS THIS YOU?" He practically screamed into the phone.

"Good to hear you too." came a sarcastic, but familiar voice.

"Where the hell have you been? Trying to find you is like following a ping pong ball. Jill and Carlos have been hunting you down for the past three and a half months. She's worried sick about you."

"You mean Carlos Oliveira"

"Yeah. You know about him?"

"I know Umbrella's after him. I found a list with our names and some others on it. It's part of some operations order for some plan to kill us. So who is he?"

Chris' tone sounded a little concerned, like this guy may be a threat to his relationship with Jill. Barry knew if Chris wasn't pleased with the fact that Jill was traveling with another man, he sure as hell wasn't going to like this. "Well, he's an Umbrella soldier."

"WHAT!? YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT JILL IS GOD KNOWS WERE WITH SOMEONE FROM UMBRELLA! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Chris screamed into the cell phone he had just bought an hour ago. His reaction sent Claire ducking for cover behind the couch.

'Damn,' she thought, looking fearfully at her brother, 'if he's this upset over that, I'd hate to see what he'd do to anyone I sleep with.'

Barry tried to explain. "Chris, he's an Umbrella soldier who switched sides. He was stabbed in the back just like we were. In fact, he wanted to go after the bastard that betrayed him. I think the name was Nicholai..."

"Ginovaef."

"How did you know? Did you run into him somewhere?"

"No, he's the man in charge of hunting us down." Chris' voice still had an angry edge to it.

"Great, Carlos is gonna love this. Anyway, Jill told me he saved her life. I don't trust him myself, but he sounds like a good man. He wants to help us bring down Umbrella. He might even prove useful in breaking into some of Umbrella's plants."

"He just better make sure nothing happens to Jill."

Barry could sense Chris' concern. "I'm sure they're both fine. I talked to them two days ago. They're in Paris. I'll give them a call to tell them where to find you. By the way, where exactly are you?"

"I'm in London with my sister, Claire. Listen, don't tell them to come here, Umbrella knows where we are. We have to get out of the city. Where and when do you want to meet?"

"The Atlanta International Airport. Get a flight that will arrive at ten tomorrow morning. I just got a call from Becky a few minutes ago. She said that they're driving down. They left at three this morning and just entered Maryland. They plan to spend the night at some inn and get here around ten-thirty. I'll call Jill and tell her to get a similar flight. That way we can get together at around the same time."

Chris looked at the laptop. "I can do you one better. There's a flight that gets in at nine. It leaves tonight at eleven. It's flight 629." Chris had settled down. He still didn't like the fact Jill was with this Carlos guy. Him being ex-Umbrella wasn't the problem, it was the fact that he could be making moves on Jill. Chris decided to try to focus on getting out of London. He had eight and a half hours before the plane was to leave. "My sister and I will be on it. You just call Jill and tell her I'm OK. The sooner she gets out of Paris the better."

Barryunderstood. Umbrella's HQ was in Paris. Hopefully Umbrella hadn't of caught on to the fact she and Carlos were there. "I'll call her right away. I tell you, it'll be so good to be back together again."

"Same here. See you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye." Barry hung up. He quickly got to his computer. He searched the flights for every airport in Paris. He found one out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. It was flight 499 and was to arrive in Atlanta at ten fifteen. That would give Chris over an hour head start on both parties. It was the best he could do at the present. At least they would have the reunion here instead if in the airport. The last thing they needed was to create a scene and draw attention to themselves. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Jill's number.

Jill walked down to Carlos' room. She had on a white T-shirt like the ones Chris wore, and a pair of tan dress pants. He said it was urgent and involved a certain someone. He didn't say who. He also said to bring her phone. She really wasn't into games. She had got up at noon and was still tired. They had been up all night yesterday trying to guess where Chris could have gone. It would have been easier if they still had their computer. They were forced to leave it when they were almost caught by Belgium police in Brussels. They had been identified by someone and reported in. Jill and Carlos barely managed to get out of the apartment before the police showed up. Jill found it lucky that they had found out about Chris the day before. Anyway, they had spent all morning out around the city. They had gone to the Umbrella HQ to stake it out. They noticed a lot more guards patrolling the grounds, due to the break-in that had happened weeks before. That night, they tried to pinpoint just where Chris could be. By the time they were done, the map they were using looked like a pin cushion. Jill had retired around eleven, while Carlos decided to stay up a bit longer. She was surprised at how well Carlos was dealing with the boundaries of their relationship. In fact, he was back to his skirt-chasing ways as they walked down the streets. She had felt like buying him a leash. She stood thinking about yesterday in front of his door. She snapped out of her daze and knocked.

"It's open." 

Jill stepped inside to see Carlos sitting on his bed, remote in hand. He had on a white tank top and his combat pants. He turned to Jill and smiled.

"Make this good Carlos, I don't feel like fooling around." Jill was always sort of cranky when she got up in the morning. Of coarse, so was everyone else she knew.

"Let's just say this will make you feel all better." He pushed play on the remote for the VCR. He had bought some blank tapes the other day so he could tape the news. He hoped that something big would happen. It did. "I taped this last night after you left. I found it interesting."

It was a report from London. It told about a wild car chase that ended in a horrible crash. The two cars were a black BMW and a black Sedan.

Carlos hit stop and turned to Jill. "It looks like someone decided to play bumper cars through downtown London. It was the Sedan that lost. I'll give you one guess who was driving the BMW."

"Chris."

"That's what I thought. Only problem is that it means Umbrella's on to Chris. He may split anytime now. I think we should call Barry to tell him. Then we should go find Chris before he's gone."

"Your right Carlos. I'll call him right now."

At that moment, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jill, it's Barry. I got some great news."

"So do I Barry. We think we found Chris. He may be in London."

"That's what I called about. He called me a few minutes ago. He's coming here with his sister."

"His sister? He doesn't have a sister. He would have told us if he did."

"Well, the man has secrets. He's leaving tonight. Listen, it's time you two came back here. There's no point in you staying there anymore. I got a flight for you. It's flight 499 out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. It leaves at eleven forty-five tonight and will arrive in Atlanta at ten fifteen tomorrow morning. Be on it."

"I guess this means we can finally get down to business."

"That's right. I also got a call from Becky. She's bringing some reinforcements."

"Finally, I was getting worried about her for a second. Will she be there tomorrow?"

"Yep. It's gonna be a big family reunion. This has been coming for a long time."

Jill smiled at his comment. "It's been to long if you ask me. I just hope all of us can do something. We may all be together, but it's not going to be easy."

"No one said it would be Jill. Anyway, you better get packing, you have a long flight ahead of you. Bye."

"Bye." Jill turned off her phone. She looked at Carlos, who had an inquisitive look. 

"Who's she."

"Rebecca. Rebecca Chambers. She's the S.T.A.R.S. member who disappeared after the Spencer Estate."

Carlos broke out in a big grin. "Is she single?"

Jill rolled her eyes. "We have to get packing to catch a flight to Atlanta so we can team up with the others and take out Umbrella, and you wonder if some girl is available."

Carlos' grin got bigger. "Hey, I just wanted to know."

Jill threw up her hands. "Why do I even bother. I need to get ready. See you later."

Carlos waited till Jill closed the door. "Damn senorita, you ARE cranky when you get up in the morning. I just hope Chris knows this, or he's in trouble."

Spencer sat at his desk. He was looking at the progress reports from the labs. The specimens were coming along nicely. Soon the S.T.A.R.S. would face their doom. These creatures were to be not only unstoppable, but also controllable. He would have whole armies of new super soldiers that every military power would be begging for. Umbrella would lead the world into a new age of bio-warfare, and soon the only ones that could stop this would be dead. He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in." He said in annoyance. 

A man walked in and saluted. "Sir, I have a report about the Redfields."

"What about them?"

"Our men followed their car. It was Chris Redfield and he was alone. They tried to kill him so they would have no trouble killing Claire Redfield. There's only one slight problem."

"And what is this slight problem?"

"Chris managed to get away. He killed the two agents in the process. We, however, are sending a small group to their apartments to eliminate them tonight."

Spencer had a look of disdain. "Just be sure those men do their job RIGHT. I don't need any slip-ups. Understand?"

"Yes Sir. We also have news of the Chambers girl. We lost track of her two days ago. She was last spotted in upstate New York."

"She is unimportant at the moment. Of them all, she is the weakest one. I want those Redfields, however, KILLED. They pose the greatest threat. Now leave me, I need time to think."

The man saluted and left the room. Spencer looked back at the report. "Those pesky survivors may have an easy time with those sorry excuses for soldiers, but you won't fail me. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."

Nicholai sat in his car. He had gotten in Atlanta around five last night. He had deployed his men at key areas of the city. No one from the S.T.A.R.S. would be able to come or go without him knowing. Now it was three and he was waiting for news of the S.T.A.R.S. arrival.

"Very soon I will eliminate you. Then I can leave this hell."

He didn't like the climate at all. The heat wasn't bad, but the humidity was horrible. 

'I just hope you fools suffer in this weather as much as I am.' He thought as he pulled at his clothes. 'For soon I will take my fury out on you.'

Chris had made a final check of the bags. He also had dug out the gun permits for his firearms. The last thing he needed was to be arrested on weapons charges. He had given a Berretta to Claire and kept one on himself. Hers was one he had bought from a gun shop in Germany. His was the one he had brought with him from Raccoon City. He also had a RemingtonM870 shotgun he had also brought along and a Colt Python Barry had given him in a duffel bag. In another duffel bag he had all the ammunition he could need. He put his Berretta in his holster and strapped that on. It felt familiar, like when he was getting ready for an important mission with the other S.T.A.R.S. He looked himself in the mirror. He was wearing one of the shirts Claire got him. It was a red and blue striped polo shirt. He also had on a pair of blue jeans. He walked into the living room and saw Claire at the kitchen. She had her Rocky Road ice cream on the counter and was proceeding to devour it as fast as she could. 

"Don't eat that too fast. You'll get yourself a headache." He said with a smirk.

Claire looked up, ice cream all over her mouth. "It's eight Chris. I only have three hours to eat this, so don't waste my time." She went back to shoveling in the ice cream. Chris had booked the flight in advanced, using a new Visa card he kept for emergencies. Now they didn't have to stand in line waiting to buy tickets.

Chris shook his head. "Why don't you at least come up for air. You'll suffocate on that stuff."

"Well, at least I'll die happy."

"I can just see the coroners report know. White female. Twenty. Cause of death. Let's see. Oh, I got it. Gluttony."

"Ho. Ho. Your so funny. OWE!" Claire grabbed her forehead, a horrible headache gripping her skull.

"Told ya." Chris said, enjoying the fact he was right.

Claire glared at him. "Oh drop dead."

Suddenly, the door flew open. Three men ran into the room, guns blazing. Chris bolted for the bedroom and Claire ducked behind the counter. A couple of bullets hit the ice cream container, knocking it off the counter. Claire watched as it hit the floor. "THAT'S IT!" She sprang up, pulling out her Berretta. She fired three shots, hitting one man square in the chest. Claire ducked back down as the man fell dead.

Chris had his own problems. He was pinned in the short hall. He waited until the two men still standing emptied their clips. As they reloaded, Chris whirled out and aimed. He fired a single shot that passed through the eye of one of the men. Chris quickly hid again as the other man reloaded and fired. Chris looked towards the kitchen to see Claire peeking at him. He motioned her to cause a distraction. Claire grabbed the salt shaker from the table. She sprinkled some on her hand. She then shot up.

"HEY YOU!"

The man turned just as she threw the salt into his eyes. The man dropped his gun and screamed as he dug at his eyes. Chris took the opportunity to shoot the man in the throat. 

"Nice going Claire."

"Thanks Chris."

Just as they thought they had won, two more men stormed in. Claire reacted quickly and shot one in the head. The other man turned and fired at Claire. Chris saw as his sister dropped.

"CLAIRE!"

In a ruse of rage, Chris blitzed the guy. The man stood stunned as Chris sprang over the couch and kicked him right in the chest. The man's gun flew from his hand as he was pushed back into the door frame. Chris then began to pummel the guy with a punch to the stomach before pistol-whipping him in the face. The man punched back and sent Chris staggering. He tripped on one of the bodies and landed hard on his ass, his gun landing just out of reach. He could only watch as the man picked up another gun and aimed it at him.

"Say goodbye Mr. Redfield." The man said.

"Goodbye." 

The man turned to see Claire pointing her Berretta right at his face. She squeezed the trigger, and the side of the man's face exploded. The body hit the ground in front of Chris, who was still in shock.

"Claire, I thought you were hurt."

"I was playing opossum. You should know that Chris, or didn't they teach you that in S.T.A.R.S."

"Fine Claire." Chris said as he got up. "Let's get what we can carry. I say we get out of here before we have any more surprise guests."

Author's Comments: What a way to end this chapter. A lot of questions were just answered. We found out that Nicholai is down in Georgia. To bad the weather doesn't agree with him. We found out it was Chris and Claire who were the targets. So what? They killed the guys. Umbrella knows where they live. Again, so what? They're leaving anyway. Jill and Carlos are getting along fine. I guess a man and a woman can be "just friends" these days. Besides, Carlos is a ladies man. You really think one woman can satisfy him. On second thought, forget I said that. People can change. We know that Leon and his crew are burning rubber heading down south. We also know that because of Claire's little stunt, it'll be a bitch to get into Umbrella's HQ now. Finally, we found out what Project X is. A group of "unstoppable killing machines". Big deal. They said that about the Nemesis, but Jill still made it her "bitch". However, with these answers we get new questions. The big one, can everyone just get along. There are a bunch of other ones, but they can wait for now. One more thing, I'm as much an expert on international flight as I am about the time zones, so bare with me. And if it confuses you, I'll give you the answer for just about every question involving Resident Evil. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.

In the next chapter, we get underway. It's the final chapter in part one, (yea.) Will Chris and Claire run into anymore trouble on the way to the airport? Will anyone else run into resistance? What will the plane ride be like? Hell, judging from the other fanfics I've read, if it isn't flipping upside down or going into a nosedive, it's crashing. Maybe the fates will be merciful on our heroes. Of coarse, you'll also find out what everyone's thinking in RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 10- Rally Point Set.


	10. Rally Point Set

Disclaimer: Resident Evil maybelong to Capcom, but this story belongs to me.

# Resident Evil: Armageddon

## Part I- Prelude to Destruction

### Chapter 10- Rally Point Set

Written by: Striker

"This is just what we need." Chris said as he pulled the BMW in front of the elevator. He looked at himself in the rear-view mirror. "Look at it this way Chris, at least you were right about Umbrella knowing where you live," he uttered to his reflection. He got out, leaving the motor running. He had left Claire in the apartment, she had enough guns to keep her safe if anyone else decided to drop by. He had taken one of the MP5s from one of the bodies. He didn't know if there was anyone else waiting for him in the parking lot. His plan was to get the car close to the elevator door so they could load it up as quickly as possible. He wasn't going to waste any time.

"Claire, let's go."

"Right." Claire picked up as many bags as she could carry. While Chris was gone, she had moved everything into the living room. Chris grabbed as many as he could and the two them placed them in the elevator. Two more trips, and they were ready to go. "Hey Chris," she asked as he pushed the button for the bottom level,"How do you think those guys got in here. They couldn't have come in the front door. That would have caused to big a scene. The only other way would be through the parking lot. If they had come in that way, Jack would have seen them."

"You know Umbrella. They would have snuck in through some other place. They wouldn't risk being seen and reported. I'm sure they avoided Jack as much as possible, either that or they made a bullshit excuse and had the proof to back it up."

Chris knew Claire was worried for Jack's safety. He was worried too. There was no telling what Umbrella would do to make sure he and his sister died. He wasn't surprised that they didn't infect the whole apartment with the T-virus. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Claire kept them from closing as she handed Chris the luggage. He in turn stuffed them into the BMW. After a few minutes, they where ready to roll. They got to the gate, but Jack wasn't in the booth.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Chris knew something was wrong. Jack would never leave the booth. If he did, he would leave a sign to let people know.

"I'll go see what's wrong." Claire got out before Chris could say anything. She walk to the door in the back of the booth. She saw it was opened. As she walked in, she saw why. "OH GOD. JACK!"

Chris heard his sister scream and was at the door in seconds. He walked in to find Claire kneeling next to Jack. He was slumped against the wall, a trail of smeared blood showing that he his had slid down the wall. 

"I can't believe they would do this." Claire sobbed, tears falling down her face.

Chris just closed his eyes. He couldn't believe how Umbrella didn't value human life. The sickening thing was that Jack was innocent. He didn't pose any threat. Still, they had killed him. "Don't worryClaire, we'll make Umbrella pay for this."

The two began to mourn their fallen friend when the were startled by a groan. Chris opened his eyes to see Jack start to move! Claire couldn't believe it either, her sadness disappearing as it was replaced with joy. 

Jack opened his eyes and looked up. "Chris? Claire? Thank God you two are alright. Some people just came through here to get you. Hey, why so glum?"

Claire spoke first. "Jack, we thought you were dead. We saw the blood on the wall, and it looked like they had shot you in the back of the head."

"No, they didn't. Some black van pulled up with a red and white umbrella thing on the side. They started asking about you, but I had figured it out. I tried to distract them, but they did it instead. All I remember was hearing the door open. Before I knew it, someone whacked me in the back of my head. I guess I fell against the wall and blacked out.

"Well," Chris said, "we sort of met those guys. We managed to get them all. I'm surprised your not dead."

"It'll take more than a bump on the head to take me out" Jack said as he started to get up. Claire helped him, as he was still to disoriented to do it himself. "Thanks Claire."

"Don't mention it." She replied.

"Where are you headed?" Jack had noticed Chris' car in front of the booth.

"We're leaving London." Chris answered. "We just found out where our friends are. We're going to meet with them, and then take out Umbrella."

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye. It's been great knowing you. I hope to see you someday." Jack was sad to here that his two friends were leaving.

Claire put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll come back to see you after this. I promise." She then kissed him on the cheek and went to the car. 

Chris walked up and shook Jack's hand. "You better call the police and tell them what happened. Also, call the landlady and tell her we're gone."

"I will Chris." Jack let Chris' hand go. "Just do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"Give them hell."

Chris nodded and walked back to the car. Jack watched as he got in. He then raised the gate. Both Chris and Claire waved before taking off. 

"Give them hell Chris, give them hell." Jack said as he lowered the gate.

Jill was standing in the hotel lobby. Carlos was paying for their rooms at the counter. She looked at her watch, only an hour and fifteen minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave. Barry had called a few hours ago to tell her he had reserved their plane tickets. At least they were guaranteed seats on the flight. They hadn't bothered to change and had called room service for some snacks. Now they were ready to head for the airport.

Carlos walked over to Jill. "The cab should be outside waiting for us. You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They walked out to the cab. The driver put their luggage in the trunk as they got in. The driver got behind the wheel and the car pulled out into the street. 

"According to the driver, it should take us a half hour to get to the airport," Carlos explained, "we then get the tickets, check our bags, and get to the gate. Since we arrived at this airport, we know where everything is. If we do this quickly, we should have about fifteen minutes to spare." Carlos was right. It had been a luck-shot that Barry had picked this airport. Their familiarity would make this an easy task.

"That was why Barry probably choose this one. It'll feel so good to be with Chris again."

"The old partners unite." Carlos said, waving his hand with flare.

Jill started to blush. "Oh knock it off. It's not that big a deal."

"Sure it's not. I just hope he trusts me."

"I know he will. Anyone opposed to Umbrella is a friend of the S.T.A.R.S. I'm sure Barry told him all about you. Who knows, you two may get to be like brothers."

"Thanks Jill. Now I'm worried about the others."

Jill smiled. Of all the people that would be at Barry's, Carlos had the most reason to be nervous. The fact that he was once with the enemy would make his help a hard sell. Jill knew that would change as he proved himself to the team. It had been fifteen minutes before she noticed that a car was following the cab.

"Carlos, do you see that car behind us?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It looks like it's following us. It's been right on our tail for a while now."

"Jill, you're just paranoid cause Umbrella's HQ is here. Try to relax, we'll be there soon."

Jill knew she was acting paranoid, but in her line of work, paranoia was healthy. Besides, she had a feeling that something was wrong. Usually when she had a feeling, it was right.

The cab pulled up to the main doors of the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Carlos got the luggage while Jill paid the driver. Just as the cab pulled away, the car that had been following them drove slowly by. Jill's eyes followed as the passenger stared at her.

"Come on Jill, we only have forty-five minutes to go."

Jill turned and walked into the busy airport with Carlos. They made their way to the main desk. Carlos stepped up to the counter.

"Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira."

The clerk checked the computer. "Yes. I have you two down for flight 499 to Atlanta."

"How much are they?"

"Your tickets were already paid for. Here you are. The flight will leave from gate 10."

Carlos took the tickets and together, he and Jill headed to the luggage check counter.

"Boy, I wonder who paid for the tickets?" Jill asked with a smile.

They checked their bags at the counter. Jill had kept a small bag with her as a carry-on. She was waiting for Carlos when she saw four men looking around. She froze as she recognized one them as the man from the car. She turned to Carlos as he walked up to her.

"What's wrong Jill?"

"Come on Carlos." she said as she grabbed his arm and began to pull him along.

"What's your hurry? We have plenty of time to get to our plane."

"Look behind us. That's the reason."

Carlos looked back to see that the four men had seen them. They were now in pursuit. "Awe shit." he said, looking forward again. "I think we better pick it up."

Jill looked at Carlos. "Now do you think I'm paranoid?"

They quickly made their way through the crowded airport, Umbrella's agents still behind. They passed gate 7 and rounded a corner. They then saw their goal, gate 10 in the distance. They quickened their pace, while the men behind them started to shove other people out of their way. Jill kept glancing back to see their pursuers progress. The agents were getting close. Jill began to panic until she looked back to see the men break off. Suddenly Carlos stopped her. The next thing she knew a woman was asking for her ticket. She handed her ticket over along with Carlos. Together they walked onto the ramp to board the plane. Jill took one last look back to see that the men were gone.

Barry had just gotten back from the store. He had run himself ragged all day trying to get everything ready for tomorrow. He'd had made the beds, cleaned the house, and had just gotten back with the food. It was nearing six, which meant that Chris and the others in Europe were on their way. He didn't have to worry Rebecca and her group. They would be spending the night at some motel in South Carolina. That's what Becky had said when she called at five to tell him their status. One thought had been running through his mind almost as fast as he had been running all day. 'How is everyone going to get along with each other?' He knew he would see tomorrow.

"I just hope we don't end up killing each other instead of Umbrella. I also hope Chris can trust everyone else." He knew Chris would get off to a rocky start with most of the people coming. He was really worried about Chris' reaction to Carlos. "Just don't do something your gonna regret."

Leon lay down on his bed. He was exhausted from the trip. No one had slept well and everyone was up by three. It was decided they should leave then and there. Leon and Sherry went in his jeep. Ark and Rott were in his Explorer. Rebecca got to take Lily in her Beetle. Leon had covered the broken window with some clear plastic wrap he had bought the other day. The three cars had left and headed for the highway. It was warm out, which meant that Becky and Lily wouldn't suffer. Besides, it was only going to get warmer the farther south they got. They had got on 84 West and continued until they had hit 81 South at Scranton, Pa. They had stayed on it through every state. They had stopped for a brief breakfast and a few more times for gas and snacks. They had pulled into a Comfort Inn a few miles South of Charlotte, S.C. They decided to keep the room arrangements the same as the driving arrangements. Leon looked at the clock. It was six. Rebecca had told Barry that they would be there at ten-thirty tomorrow morning. That was tomorrow. Now all he wanted was to sleep.

"Leon." It was Sherry.

"What is it kid?"

"Are you anxious about tomorrow?"

"Of coarse I am. Tomorrow we meet our new friends and put a stop to Umbrella."

"I just want to see Claire. I don't really care about the others."

Sherry had been jumpy the whole way down. It was either Claire this or Claire that. He knew she missed Claire. He did too. "I'm sure she's just as anxious to see you. Now try to get some sleep. You look like the living dead."

Sherry giggled. Any other time she wouldn't have, but she was just so happy to know that she would finally be with Claire again. "OK Leon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Sherry." Leon said. He turned out the lights and got comfortable. Sherry was out like a light, Falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. He knew everyone else had the same feelings of anxiety. Ark, Rott, and Lily were fearful of not being accepted. Rebecca was excited about being reunited with her old partners. What they were all anxious about was the war to come. This war was more important than any other battles they had fought before. This would determine the fate of the whole world. But right now, all Leon could think of was Claire.

'I hope your safe. I also hope you may have the same feelings for me that I have for you. Please God, just make everything come out right.' Leon let out a sigh and fell asleep.

Charles Spencer sat at his desk. It was midnight in Paris, but he didn't feel like sleeping. Sleep was for the weak. He was strong. Besides, he had a very comfortable couch in his office. He would stay here until his problems were eliminated. He heard a knock on his door. "Come in and make it quick."

The same man that had come before stepped inside. He saluted and gave his report. "Sir, the party that was sent to the Redfields' apartment has not checked in. We assume they are dead, based on the fact that the Redfields were spotted at a nearby airport boarding a plane. We check and found out the destination was Atlanta. The time of arrival is nine o'clock Eastern Standard Time."

"I can't say how disappointed I am at ALL THESE FAILURES!" He began to yell. "FOR YOUR SAKE, THERE BETTER NOT BE ANY MORE PROBLEMS!"

"Well sir, I have two other things to report. One is that we still cannot find Miss. Chambers. The second is that we found Miss. Valentine and Mr. Oliveira."

"Where are they?" Spencer had regained his composure upon hearing this news.

The man swallowed hard. "They were here sir."

"WHAT!? YOUR TELLING ME THAT WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING ALL OF EUROPE FOR THEM, AND THEY WERE RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES!?"

"Ye, Yes sir. They were spotted yesterday in front of this building. They were seen leaving the hotel they were at ten-thirty. We followed them to a local airport. Our men tried to catch them before they got on their plane. The men failed. That flight is also heading for Atlanta. It will arrive at ten-fifteen tomorrow morning."

Spencer was seething. "Very well. Send Nicholai the flight numbers and times of arrival. Tell him to get ready. Now leave."

"Yes sir." The man saluted and quickly left. 

Spencer turned in his chair to look at a huge portrait of his grandfather. "You better hope for your sake Nicholai that you get your job done. Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences."

Jill read one of her true crimes books she always brought with her. She decided to catch up on some reading before sleeping. Next to her, Carlos was fidgeting in his seat. "Worried?"

He looked at her. "Yeah, I should be nervous. I'm and ex-Umbrella/ ex-mercenary that no one is going to trust and will be watched like a hawk by this Chris guy."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll understand your situation. And if he doesn't, I'll make him."

"I'm sure you can." He tried to force a smile, only to fail miserably. "I just hope he doesn't think we're an item and hates me more."

"I fully intend on telling him our relationship. I also plan on telling him the truth, I just hope he hasn't found someone else." Jill looked towards the window, hoping she was right.

"If what you told me about him is true, I'm sure he's hoping the same thing. I'm also sure he loves you too. Anyway, I think we'll feel better if we both get some sleep." Carlos turned off the lights above their seats and fell asleep.

Jill rested her head against the head rest and adjusted her body so she was looking out the window. She thought about what Carlos had said. 'I hope your right. Tomorrow, I'm going to tell you Chris, I'm going to tell you what I should have a long time ago. I'm going to tell you I love you. I just pray that you love me too.' Jill slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chris sat next to Claire. She was staring out the window at the dark sky. 

"What's wrong sis.?"

"I'm just worried about Jack. I wonder if we'll ever see him again."

"Believe me, when this thing is over, we'll pay him a visit. I made a promise Claire, I always keep my promises."

"Then we better get this over quickly." Claire smiled and turned back to the window.

Chris sighed. It had been hectic ever since they had left the apartment. Chris' biggest worry was the guns. He had unloaded the clips from the Berrettas and fired the loaded rounds into a pillow. The man at the baggage check was understanding. Chris explained that all the guns were unloaded and the ammo was in a separate bag. He also had the permits ready. Everything had gone smoothly. They even had some time to pick up some souvenirs. Claire bought Sherry a model of Buckingham Palace and Leon a hat like the one the guards wore. Chris had bought Barry a lighter in the shape of a magnum, Rebecca a teddy bear, complete with a shirt that had the British flag on it. He had also bought a diamond and ruby necklace for Jill. He had stuffed the necklace in the side pouch of his carry-on bag, keeping it a secret from his sister. Now he could relax. His mind, however, didn't get the message. It was working fast and furious. He rested his head on is left hand.

Claire wasn't doing any better. Her mind swirled around two people, Sherry and Leon. She closed her eyes as she remembered the last time she saw Sherry. There were tears in the girl's eyes as she waved goodbye. 'Don't worrybaby, I'll be with you soon, and I promise I will never leave you again, no matter what.' Her thoughts then turned to Leon. She had developed feelings for him before she had left to find Chris. Now with the death of Steve, she didn't know what to do. 'Leon, I know I had feelings for you, but I just don't know if I can ever feel for you what I felt for Steve. I just hope you understand if I push you away.'

Chris leaned back against his seat. He had gotten his thoughts as ordered as he could. Three thoughts now ran through his head. 'If only I hadn't of left, we wouldn't of had to do this. I could have been there to help my friends when they needed it the most. I hope that now we can finish what we started. We have to, or we have no future. It's time for this to end.' His final thought was of Jill. He looked down to his bag, remembering the necklace he was going to give her tomorrow. 'Jill, I'm going to finally do it. I'm going to tell you what I should have before this whole mess started. I'm gonna tell you I love you, I just hope you haven't fallen for this Carlos guy. I don't know if I could go on without you.' Chris closed his eyes and fell asleep, not knowing what the future held for him.

That's how it all began. This was just the start, the beginning. I didn't know it then, but the events of those couple of days were just a prelude of the war to come. As I look back on this, I could help but see how fate worked to bring us back together. It also showed us the dangers of what we would be facing soon. Each of us had also found our inner demons. Our mixed feelings about each other would only prove to make the impossible task we were to undertake harder. I guess time does change a person. I didn't know it, but I had changed a little. It was the fact that for the first time I actually plan on telling Jill that I loved her was proof enough. In that way, we all changed during those times. We had also developed the will to fight to the end, due to our own trials we had to endure. The only question was while we were physically ready to fight Umbrella, were our hearts ready as well?

Author's Comments: What a way to end this part. huh? Well, that concluded Part 1. Now comes Part 2. We are one step closer to the final war. We are one step closer to Armageddon. Now the pace quickens and the heat gets turned up. The emotional states of the survivors are clear. Now their problems will play center stage in the next part. Will the group be able to overcome their inner struggles and emerge a strong team, or will they be ripped apart by their own demons. You'll have to read the next part to find out.

In the next chapter, survivors finally come together. Old friends are reunited and new friendships are formed. But will this meeting bring on hostel feelings and breed mistrust? Find out in RE Armageddon: Part 2, Chapter 1- Overdue Reunion.


End file.
